CONVERTED 


Ube  'dniperstts  ot  Cbtcago 


History  of  the  Sunday  School 

Movement  in  the  Methodist 

Episcopal    Church 


A    DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 

IN  THE 

GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL 


BY 

ADDIE    GRACE    WARDLE 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 

1918 


Copyright,  191 8,  by 
ADDIE  GRACE  WARDLE 


DEDICATED 

TO  THE   HEARTENING  MEMORY 

OP  A  mother's  FAITH  AND  DEVOTION 

MARTHA   SINGLETON   WARDLE 

1842-1897 

FAITHFUL  TO  THE    SUNDAY   SCHOOL 

OF  THE   WESLEYAN   CHURCH  IN   ENGLAND 

AND 

OF   THE   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH   IN   AMERICA 


131 


Note 

In  the  assembling  of  material,  quotations  from  original 
sources  have  been  employed  as  the  most  desirable  method  of  por- 
traying historic  events  accurately.  In  the  use  of  these  quotations 
the  original  source  has  been  followed  in  spelling,  punctuation, 
etc.,  as  far  as  possible. 


OUTLINE 

CHAPTER  I 
English  Antecedents  of  the  American  Methodist  Sunday  School 

Movement  page 

§  I.  Early  Methodism  and  Its  Relation  to  Religious  Education n 

o.  Its  program,  indicating  the  early  soil  of  the  Sunday  School, 
(i)  Educational. 

(2)  Evangelistic. 

(3)  Social. 

b.  Methodism's  preparation. 

(1)  Educational  emphasis  and  institutions. 

(2)  Organization  of  children's  classes  by  pastors. 

(a)  Legislation. 

1748. 
1766. 

(b)  Wesley's  experience  in  children's  classes. 

(3)  Sunday  gatherings  for  religious  instruction  prior  to  1780. 

(a)  In  the  Wesley  family. 
(6)  In  Wycombe  by  Hannah  Ball. 
§  2.  Methodism  and  the  Raikes  Movement 16 

a.  Methodism's  relation  to  the  founding  of  the  Sunday  School. 

b.  John  Wesley's  attitude  and  work. 

c.  Other  leaders  of  the  movement. 

§  3.  Sunday  School  Plans  and  Later  Legislation  in  England  that  May  Have 

Served  as  Models  for  American  Methodism 24 

a.  Sunday  School  developments,  1 798-1 805. 

b.  Conversations  between  Wesley  and  the  preachers,  1797. 

c.  Important  legislation,  1805,  1808,  1817,  1819,  1822,  1823,  1826, 

1827,  1828. 

d.  Summary  of  legislation  and  work. 

§4.  Further   Early   Contributions  of   Methodism  to  the   Sunday   School 

Movement 35 

a.  Origin  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

b.  Adult  Sunday  School  Work. 

c.  Sunday  Schools  in  Asia. 

CHAPTER  II 
Early  Beginnings  in  America  and  the  Evident  Influence  of  English 

Wesleyanism,  1784-1827 
§  1.  Methodism  in  America  and  Early  Religious  Instruction 42 

a.  Church  organization. 

b.  Instruction  of  children. 

(1)  Legislation. 

(2)  Early  instruction. 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

§  2.  The  Early  Sunday  School  Movement 46 

§  3.  Official  Recognition  of  Sunday  Schools  and  Their  Organization 50 

§  4.  The  Book  Concern  and  Sunday  Schools 55 

§  5.  Examples  of  Sunday  School  Work 55 

§  6.  Relation  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  Schools  to  Sunday  School  Unions..  .  57 

§  7.  Religious  Education  on  the  Frontier  and  Among  the  Indians 58 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  and  Sunday  School  Advance, 
1 82 7- 1 840 

§  1.  Organization  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union 61 

a.  Organization. 

b.  Object. 

c.  Reception  and  immediate  success. 

d.  Criticisms. 

§  2.  Early  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Union 65 

§  3.  Problems  of  the  Schools 66 

§  4.  Early  Work  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  Board 67 

a.  Periodicals. 

b.  Resolutions. 

c.  Helps  to  teachers. 

d.  A  Sunday  School  pastor. 

§  5.  Annual  Reports  of  the  Union 69 

a.  First  Report  and  General  Conference  Legislation. 

b.  Second  Report. 

c.  Third  Report. 

§  6.  Indication  of  Intensity  of  Interest 72 

a.  In  Sunday  School  work. 

b.  In  abnormal  religious  experiences. 

c.  In  the  educational  feature. 

d.  In  General  Conference  legislation. 

§  7.  Later  Legislation  and  the  Decline  of  the  Sunday  School  Union 74 

a.  Merging  of  benevolences. 

b.  The  publishing  fund. 

c.  Changes  in  Sunday  School  legislation  following  the  merging. 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Period  of  Organizational  Progress,  1840-1908 

§  I.  A  Quadrcnnium  of  Re-beginnings,  1 840-1844 78 

a.  Reorganization. 
l>.  NVw  legislation. 
c  Publications. 

d.  The  Board'!  doing  first-hand  work. 

6 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

§  2.  The  Years  of  Calamities  and  Unprecedented  Progress,  1 844-1 868 82 

o.  The  forward  plans  of  the  Board. 

(1)  Election  of  "Editor  of  Sunday  School  Books  and  Tracts." 

(2)  New  financial  resources. 

(3)  Rallying  the  whole  church. 

b.  Statistics  showing  the  progress,  1844-1868,  and  additional  legisla- 

tion. 

c.  The  calamities  of  the  period  and  their  relation  to  the  Sunday 

School  work. 

(1)  European  War  (1848)  and  immigration  to  America. 

(2)  Cholera  epidemic  (1850). 

(3)  Civil  War. 

(a)  Withdrawal  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South. 

(b)  Disorganization  of  the  work  during  the  war. 

§  3.  Two  Decades  of  New  Methods,  1868-1888 99 

a.  Creation  of  the  "Department  of  Sunday  School  Instruction." 

b.  New  Methods  in  general  Sunday  School  work. 

c.  Statistics  of  the  Sunday  School  Centenary  (1880). 

§  4.  Two  Decades  of  the  Emphasis  of  the  Normal  Sunday  School  and  the 

Agitation  of  Religious  Education,  1888-1908 102 

a.  The  semicentenary  of  the  reorganization  of  the  Methodist  Sunday 

School  Union,  1890. 

b.  The  quadrennium  report,  1888-1892. 

(1)  Statistics. 

(2)  Organization  of  the  Ep worth  League. 

(3)  The  Rindge  Fund. 

c.  The  closing  years  of  the  period  and  the  decline  of  the  work. 

d.  The  reorganization  as  the  "Board  of  Sunday  Schools." 

CHAPTER  V 

Principles  and  Methods  of  Sunday  School  Instruction,  1840-1908 

§  I.  The  Child  and  Its  Religious  Experience 106 

a.  Disciplinary  statement. 

b.  Emphasis  upon  learning  the  catechism. 

c.  Religious  experience  of  the  child  as  central  and  the  Bible  as  the 

textbook. 
§  2.  Means  and  Instrumentalities  in  the  Sunday  School  Work 1 12 

a.  Books. 

b.  Parents. 

c.  Pastors. 

d.  Teachers. 

§  3.  The  Training  of  the  Teacher 119 

a.  Appeal  and  early  plans  for  teacher  training  (1827-        ). 

b.  The  "Normal  Sunday  School." 

c.  The  "Institute." 

d.  The  "Normal  College." 

7 


OUTLINE 

PAGE 

e.  The  Chautauqua  Movement. 
/.   Lyceum  courses. 
5  4.  Courses  of  Study  for  the  Pupils 129 

a.  Question  books,  catechisms,  etc. 

b.  Lesson  leaves. 

c.  Lesson  books  and  graded  courses. 

d.  Uniform  lessons. 

e.  Supplemental  lessons. 

§  5.  Specific   Methods  of  Instruction  and  the  Organization  of  the  Sunday 

School    143 

o.  Resolutions  and  articles  setting  forth  problems  in  method. 

b.  Specific  methods  recommended. 

(1)  Syllable  repetitions  and  formal  rules. 

(2)  Use  of  blackboard. 

(3)  Use  of  illustrative  objects — museums. 

(4)  Singing  and  hymn  books. 

c.  Characterizations  of  the  period. 

§  6.  Sunday  School  Libraries 153 

$  7.  Sessions  of  the  Sunday  School 157 

§  8.  Children's  Meetings 159 

5  9.  Prophecies  of  the  Modern  Emphasis  in  the  Sunday  School 160 

a.  Sunday  School  missionaries. 

b.  Vocational  guidance  and  social  service. 

c.  Recreation. 

d.  The  children's  church. 

e.  The  legitimate  field  of  the  Sunday  School. 

(1)  Relative  to  rich  and  poor. 

(2)  Relative  to  age. 

(3)  The  Sunday  School  for  all  the  congregation. 

5  10.  The  Extensive  Work  of  the  Sunday  School 163 

a.  In  America. 

(1)  In  organization,  and  frontier  work. 

(2)  Among  non- Americans  in  America. 

b.  In  foreign  fields. 

5  11.  The  Climax  of  the  Period  in  the  New  Emphasis  and  the  Graded  Les- 
son Plan 171 

a.  The  biological  and  pedagogical  emphasis. 

b.  The  period  of  fruitage. 

(1)  Its  character. 

(2)  Its  agencies. 

(a)  International   Primary   Union   and  Graded   Lesson 
Conference. 

(6)  Religious  Education  Association, 
(c)   Sunday  School  Editorial  Association. 

c.  Methodism  and  the  Graded  Lessons. 

d.  The  organization  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 

8 


OUTLINE 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  New  Organization  and  Its  Advance,  1908-1916 

PAGE 

§  1.  The  Emphasis  of  the  New  Organization 176 

a.  The  Adult  Movement. 

b.  The  centrality  of  the  child. 

§  2.  The  Goal  of  the  Movement 177 

a.  The  statement. 

b.  The  vital  problems. 

§  3.  The  Extension  and  Promotion  Work 179 

c.  Teacher-training  courses  and  institutes. 

b.  Reports. 

c.  Extension  plans. 

d.  Missionary  education. 

e.  Special  features  in  present  plan. 

(1)  Leaflets  of  instruction. 

(2)  Divisions  of  Teen- Age. 

(3)  Cooperation  of  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  with  other  boards. 

(4)  Three  experiments. 

f.  Standardization  program. 

§  4.  The  Curriculum  and  Literature  Plans 185 

a.  The  International  Lesson  Committee. 

b.  Departmental  Uniform  Lessons. 

c.  Revised  Graded  Lessons. 

d.  College  Voluntary  Study  Courses. 

e.  Publications  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 

CHAPTER  VII 
Summary  of  the  Sunday  School  Movement  in  American  Methodism 

§  1.  The  General  View 201 

§  2.  Elements  Entering  into  the  Educational  Program  Historically  Con- 
sidered     203 

o.  Organization. 

b.  Equipment. 

c.  Method,  including  Curriculum. 

d.  The  Teacher. 

e.  The  Goal. 

APPENDICES 

I.  Appendix — Statistics 

§  1.  Table  of  Growth  of  the  Sunday  School 213 

§  2.  Table  of  Sunday  School  Gifts  to  Missions 215 

§  3.  Table  of  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations 216 

II.  Appendix — Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools 
Chap.  IX— Board  of  Sunday  Schools 216 

Bibliography 223 

Index 226 

9 


CHAPTER  I 

ENGLISH  ANTECEDENTS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 

METHODIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

MOVEMENT 

§  i.   Early  Methodism  and  Its  Relation  to  Religious 
Education 

Methodism  was  born  in  a  university  atmosphere  and  among 
university  men.  How  fitting  and  inevitable  that  the  church  of 
the  Wesleys,  organized  by  that  choice  company  of  Oxford  (Uni- 
versity) students,  should  be  found  always  with  an  educational 
program!  But  the  movement  was  a  reaction  against  infidelity 
and  formalism  in  behalf  of  faith  and  a  personal,  conscious  rela- 
tionship with  God.  How  fitting  and  inevitable  that  Methodism 
should  be  found  always  with  an  evangelistic  program!  And, 
furthermore,  that  little  group  formulated  a  social  program,  a 
ministry  to  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  imprisoned.  Could  there 
have  been  a  better  combination  of  ideals  as  a  soil  in  which  to 
develop  that  beautiful,  sturdy  plant,  the  Sunday  school,  that  had 
in  the  centuries  sought  many  lands  for  its  growth  to  perish  al- 
ways at  last  from  a  hostile  climate  ? 

It  was  in  1738,  a  little  less  than  fifty  years  before  Robert 
Raikes  began  his  Sunday  school  in  Gloucester,  England,  that  a 
prayer  and  Bible-study  meeting  became  the  Wesleyan  Church  of 
England.  These  fifty  years — what  busy  years  they  were  in  the 
tilling  of  the  soil  in  which  to  plant  the  new  seed  that  was  to  be 
disseminated  so  widely  through  the  Gloucester  Journal,  owned 
and  edited  by  the  time-honored  Gloucester  philanthropist,  and 
through  the  Arminian  Magazine,  begun  and  edited  by  John 
Wesley,  the  founder  of  Methodism ! 

"Lady  Huntingdon,  the  Wesleys,  and  their  early  associates 
were  of  the  excellent  of  the  land.  They  set  for  themselves  the 
task  of  raising  the  English  people  to  a  footing  in  religion  and 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

intelligence  like  their  own.  It  was  not  long,  and  could  not  be, 
before  these  men  of  the  university  should  begin  the  work  of  edu- 
cation." x  Soon  there  was  Kingswood  School  that  boasted  later 
an  Adam  Clarke  as  its  pupil ;  then  came  the  Leeds  School,  and  the 
Newcastle  Orphan  House  with  its  forty  children  under  a  master 
and  mistress;  and  not  of  least  moment  the  school  of  sixty  in 
John  Wesley's  own  house  in  London,  where  the  poor  came 
without  pay  and  with  clothing  provided  when  necessary.2  In 
all  these  institutional  efforts  religion  formed  a  prominent  part 
of  the  education. 

A  second  feature  of  the  preparation  foi  the  Sunday  school 
movement  was  the  emphasis  upon  the  duties  of  the  pastor  as  a 
religious  instructor.  In  the  year  1748  the  Conference  passed  the 
following : 

Q.  9.  Might  not  the  children  in  every  place  be  formed  into 
a  little  Society? 

A.  Let  the  Preachers  try  by  meeting  them  apart,  and  giv- 
ing them  suitable  exhortations.3 

In  the  Minutes,  of  1766,  the  more  detailed  and  definite  instruc- 
tions are  given. 

Family  religion  is  shamefully  wanting,  and  in  almost  every 
branch. 

And  the  Methodists  in  general  will  be  little  better  till  we  take 
quite  another  course  with  them.  For  what  avails  public  preach- 
ing alone,  though  we  could  preach  like  angels? 

I  heard  Dr.  Lupton  say:  "My  father,  visiting  one  of  his 
parishioners,  who  had  never  missed  going  to  church  for  forty 
years,  then  lying  on  his  deathbed,  asked  him,  'Thomas,  where  do 
you  think  your  soul  will  go?'  'Soul!  Soul!'  said  Thomas. 
'Yes;  do  you  not  know  what  your  soul  is?'  'Ay,  surely,'  said  he ; 
'why,  it  is  a  little  bone  in  the  back,  that  lives  longer  than  the  rest 
of  the  body.'     So  much  Thomas  had  learned  by  often  hearing 


'Hyde,  A.  B. :  The  Story  of  Methodism. 

'For  a  comparison  of  Charity  Schools,  Schools  of  Industry  and  Sunday 
Schools,  See  (Economy  of  Charity,  Mrs.  Trimmer,  1801. 

'Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  i,  1744-1798,  published  by 
John  Mason,  London,  p.  43,  year  1748. 

12 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

sermons,  yea,  and  exceeding  good  sermons,  for  forty  years."  We 
must  instruct  them  from  house  tc  house;  till  this  is  done,  and  that 
in  good  earnest,  the  Methodists  will  be  little  better  than  other 
people. 

Then  there  are  subjoined  quotations  on  visiting  from  house 
to  house  from  Baxter's  Gildas  Salvianus  or  The  Reformed 
Pastor,  as  it  was  later  styled.  Wesley  follows  in  general  his  sug- 
gestions, but  introduces  the  new  features  of  instructing  children.4 

I.  Every  Preacher  take  an  exact  catalogue  of  those  in 
Society,  from  one  end  of  each  town  to  the  other.  2.  Go  to  each 
house,  and  give,  with  suitable  exhortation  and  direction,  the  "In- 
structions for  Children."  3.  Be  sure  to  deal  gently  with  them, 
and  take  off  all  discouragements  as  effectually  as  you  can.  See 
that  the  children  get  these  by  heart.  Advise  the  grown  persons 
to  see  that  they  understand  them.  And  enlarge  upon  and  apply 
every  sentence  as  closely  as  you  can.  And  let  your  dealing  with 
those  you  begin  with  be  so  gentle,  winning,  and  convincing,  that 
the  report  of  it  may  move  others  to  desire  your  coming.  True, 
it  is  far  easier  to  preach  a  good  sermon  than  to  instruct  the  ignor- 
ant in  the  principles  of  religion.  And,  as  much  as  this  work  is 
despised  by  some,  I  doubt  not  but  it  will  try  the  parts  and  spirits 
of  us  all.  So  Archbishop  Usher:  "Great  scholars  may  think  it 
beneath  them  to  spend  their  time  in  teaching  the  first  principles 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  But  they  should  consider,  that  the 
laying  the  foundation  skillfully,  as  it  is  the  matter  of  greatest 
importance  in  the  whole  building,  so  it  is  the  very  masterpiece  of 
the  wisest  builder :  'According  to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given 
unto  me  as  a  wise  master  builder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation,' 
saith  the  great  Apostle.  And  let  the  wisest  of  us  all  try,  when- 
ever we  please,  we  shall  find  that  to  lay  this  groundwork  rightly, 
to  make  an  ignorant  man  understand  the  grounds  of  religion,  will 
put  us  to  the  trial  of  all  our  skill." 

Perhaps  in  doing  this,  it  may  be  well, 

1.  After  a  few  loving  words  spoken  to  all  in  the  house,  to 
take  each  person  single  into  another  room,  where  you  may  deal 
closely  with  them,  about  their  sin,  and  misery,  and  duty. 


4Note  especially  Chap.  Ill,  Sec.  ii,  Arts.   1-3,  Fifth  Edition,  London. 
(Religious  Tract  Society,  1829.) 

13 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

2.     Hear  what  the  children  have  learned  by  heart. 

Questions  from  three  to  ten,  inclusive,  have  to  do  with  the 
catechising  of  the  individuals  in  the  home  relative  to  sin,  repent- 
ance and  conversion,  suggesting  the  questions  and  answers  for 
the  conversation. 

ii.  Before  you  leave  them,  engage  the  head  of  each  family 
to  call  all  his  family  every  Sunday,  before  they  go  to  bed.  and 
hear  what  they  can  rehearse ;  and  so  continue  till  they  have 
learned  all  the  "Instructions"  perfectly.  And  afterward  take 
care  that  they  do  not  forget  what  they  have  learned. 

At  the  close  of  Wesley's  exhortations,  he  concludes : 

The  sum  is :  Go  into  every  house  in  course,  and  teach  every 
one  therein,  young  and  old,  if  they  belong  to  us,  to  be  Christians, 
inwardly  and  outwardly. 

Make  every  particular  plain  to  their  understanding.  Fix  it 
in  their  memory.  Write  it  on  their  heart.  In  order  to  this,  there 
must  be  line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept.  I  remember  to  have 
heard  my  father  asking  my  mother,  "How  could  you  have  the 
patience  to  tell  that  blockhead  the  same  thing  twenty  times  over?" 
She  answered,  "Why,  if  I  had  told  him  but  nineteen  times,  I 
should  have  lost  all  my  labor."  What  patience  indeed,  what 
love,  what  knowledge  is  requisite  for  this !  Q.  In  what  method 
should  we  instruct  them?  A.  Read,  explain,  enforce, 
i.     The  rules  of  the  Society. 

2.  Instructions  for  Children. 

3.  The  fourth  volume  of  Sermons. 

4.  Philip  Henry's  Method  of  Family  Prayer. 

Over  and  above:  Wherever  there  are  ten  children  in  a 
Society,  spend  at  least  an  hour  with  them  twice  a  week.  And 
do  this,  not  in  a  'dull,  dry,  formal  manner,  but  in  earnest,  with 
your  might. 

"But  I  have  no  gift  for  this."  Gift  or  no  gift,  you  are  to  do 
it,  else  you  are  not  called  to  be  a  Methodist  Preacher.  Do  it  as 
you  can,  till  you  can  do  it  as  you  would.  Pray  earnestly  for  the 
gift,  and  use  the  means  for  it;  particularly  study  the  children's 
Tracts.5 


'Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  i,  1744-1798,  published  by 
John  Mason,  London,  pp.  63-69,  year  1766. 

14 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

'  The  origin  in  Methodism  of  these  classes  dates  back  to  Wes- 
ley's own  experiences.  In  1735,  as  a  missionary  in  Georgia,  Wes- 
ley taught  the  children  of  Savannah  on  Sunday.  In  order  to  en- 
courage the  children  who  were  too  poor  to  have  shoes  to  come  he 
went  to  the  meetings  barefoot  himself.  Later  he  visited  Count 
Zinzendorf  at  Herrnhut  and  learned  of  his  more  successful  in- 
struction of  children  and  adults  in  classes  not  exceeding  ten  per- 
sons. These  "classes"  Zinzendorf  had  instituted  after  the  revival 
among  the  children  in  1727.  Over  each  class  a  teacher  was  placed 
and  the  instruction  was  religious.  This  plan  Wesley  adopted  for 
his  new  church.6 

For  nearly  thirty  years  before  the  Gloucester  Sunday  School 
Movement  Wesley  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  the  children 
in  various  places  and  giving  them  direct  religious  instruction. 
The  following  are  extracts  from  his  Journal : 

Sunday,  11  [April,  1756]. — I  met  about  a  hundred  children, 
who  are  catechized  publicly  twice  a  week.  Thomas  Walsh  began 
this  some  months  ago ;  and  the  fruit  of  it  appears  already.  What 
a  pity  that  all  our  preachers  in  every  place  have  not  the  zeal  and 
wisdom  to  follow  his  example ! 

Sunday,  30  [August,  1758]. — I  began  meeting  the  children 
in  the  afternoon,  though  with  little  hopes  of  doing  them  good. 
But  I  had  not  spoke  long  on  our  natural  state  before  many  of 
them  were  in  tears,  and  five  or  six  so  affected  that  they  could  not 
refrain  from  crying  aloud  to  God.  When  I  began  to  pray  their 
cries  increased,  so  that  my  voice  was  soon  lost.  I  have  seen  no 
such  work  among  children  for  eighteen  or  nineteen  years. 

Saturday,  30  [May,  1772]. — I  met  a  company  of  the  most 
lively  children  that  I  have  seen  for  several  years.  One  of  them 
repeated  her  hymn  with  such  propriety,  that  I  did  not  observe 
one  accent  misplaced.  Fair  blossoms !  And  if  they  be  duly  at- 
tended, there  may  be  good  fruit ! 

Gatherings  on  Sunday  for  the  purpose  of  religious  instruc- 
tion were  even  a  more  direct  preparation  of  Methodism  for  the 
Sunday  School  of  1780. 

The  first  illustration  comes  from  the  inner  life  of  the  Wesley 


"Annual  Report,  for  1888,  p.  10. 
15 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

family  of  nineteen  children.  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the 
influence  of  these  early  experiences  upon  the  life  and  attitude  of 
John  Wesley  when  he  faced  the  question  of  religious  education  in 
the  churches  he  was  organizing. 

As  their  circumstances  were  narrow  and  confined,  the  educa- 
tion of  their  progeny  fell  particularly  upon  themselves;  and  espe- 
cially on  Mrs.  Wesley,  who  seems  to  have  possessed  every  quali- 
fication requisite  for  either  a  public  or  private  teacher.7 

During  her  husband's  absence  [1711-1712]  Mrs.  Wesley 
felt  it  her  duty  to  pay  more  particular  attention  to  her  children, 
especially  on  the  Lord's  Day  in  the  evening,  as  there  was  then  no 
service  in  the  afternoon  at  the  Church.  She  read  prayers  to  them, 
and  also  a  sermon,  and  conversed  with  them  on  religious  and  de- 
votional subjects.  Some  neighbors  happening  to  come  in  during 
these  exercises,  being  permitted  to  stay,  were  so  pleased  and 
profited  as  to  desire  permission  to  come  again.  This  was 
granted;  a  good  report  of  the  meeting  became  general;  many 
requested  leave  to  attend;  and  the  house  was  soon  filled,  more 
than  two  hundred  at  last  attending ;  and  many  were  obliged  to  go 
away  for  want  of  room.8 

Hannah  Ball,  of  Wycombe,  opened  in  1769  a  Sunday  school 
for  the  training  of  children  in  the  Scripture.  In  a  letter  to  Wes- 
ley dated  1770  she  gives  the  following  description: 

The  children  meet  twice  a  week,  every  Sunday  and  Monday. 
They  are  a  wild  little  company,  but  seem  willing  to  be  instructed. 
I  labor  among  them,  earnestly  desiring  to  promote  the  interest  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.9 

§  2.   Methodism  and  the  Raikes  Movement 

These  are  not  isolated  but  representative  examples,  and  in 
only  one  denomination,  of  the  many  efforts  during  the  half  cen- 
tury prior  to  Robert  Raikes's  experiment.  Well  has  it  been  said, 
"Raikes  is  the  father  of  the  Sunday  school,  not  as  its  inventor, 
still  less  as  its  maker  or  perfector,  but  as  its  prophet."  10     For 

'Clarke,  Adam:  Wesley  Family  (1823),  p.  256,  publishers  J.  &  T.  Clarke. 
'Ibid.,  p.  328. 

'Tyerman,  L. :  Life  and  Times  of  John  Wesley  (1872),  vol.  ii,  p.  534. 
See  Ball's  Memoirs  for  the  letter. 

'"Cope,  H.  F. :  The  Evolution  of  the  Sunday  School,  pp.  50,  51. 
16 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

three  years  Raikes  did  not  make  public  his  plan  of  education,  the 
rather  testing  it,  but  November  3,  1783,  he  mentioned  it  in  the 
Gloucester  Journal,  and  later  gave  a  full  description  of  the  under- 
taking.11 

The  incident  that  led  to  the  beginning  of  the  first  Sunday 
school  under  Robert  Raikes  relates  itself  to  Methodist  history. 
It  was  Sophia  Cooke,  later  the  wife  of  the  "Demosthenes  of 
Methodism,"  the  Rev.  Samuel  Bradburn,  one  of  Wesley's  most 
noted  preachers,  who  first  suggested  the  idea  of  a  Sunday  school 
to  Robert  Raikes,  assisted  in  its  first  organization,  marched  with 
him  at  the  head  of  the  scholars  when  they  were  taken  to  the 
parish  church,  "and  was  one  of  his  most  effective  teachers."  The 
Methodist  Magazine  of  1834  prints  this  obituary: 

Recent  Deaths 

March  17th.  At  Islington,  in  the  London  North  Circuit, 
Mrs.  Sophia  Bradburn,  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  Samuel  Bradburn, 
aged  seventy-five  years. 

She  was  a  native  of  Gloucester;  and  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  her  age  was  brought  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  pardoning  mercy 
and  renewing  grace  of  God,  when  she  immediately  united  herself 
to  the  Methodist  Society,  of  which  she  continued  an  exemplary 
member  to  the  end  of  her  life.  It  is  stated,  on  good  authority 
that  she  first  suggested  to  Mr.  Raikes,  with  whom  she  was  per- 
sonally acquainted,  the  plan  of  Sunday  school  instruction.  Com- 
miserating the  case  of  a  large  number  of  ragged  children,  whom 
he  saw  in  the  streets,  he  said  to  Miss  Cooke  (for  that  was  her 
maiden  name)  "What  shall  we  do  for  these  poor,  neglected  chil- 
dren?" And  she  answered,  "Let  us  teach  them  to  read  and  take 
them  to  church."  The  suggestion  was  adopted ;  and  Mr.  Raikes 
and  Miss  Cooke  conducted  the  first  company  of  Sunday  scholars 
to  the  church,  exposed  to  public  laughter  as  they  passed  along  the 
street  with  their  unpromising  charge.12 


"For  full  description  see  The  Origin  of  Sunday  School,  Methodist 
Magazine  (London),  August,  1817. 

12Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1834,  p.  319.  See  also  biographical 
facts  given  by  her  nephew,  Mr.  Charles  Cooke,  surgeon,  related  in  Robert 
Raikes,  the  Man  and  His  Work,  by  J.  Henry  Harris,  pp.  143ft. 

17 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Methodism  gained  its  largest  foothold  among  the  common 
people,  the  class  for  which  the  Sunday  school  did  its  best  and 
most  extensive  work.  John  Wesley  gave  all  his  time  to  the  work 
of  the  church  as  its  head  and  director,  gaining  thereby  an  oppor- 
tunity larger  than  that  Robert  Raikes  had  to  extend  the  Sunday 
school  movement.  Besides  this  unparalleled  advantage,  Wes- 
ley was  editing  the  Arminian  Magazine,  that  earliest  periodical 
of  its  class  in  the  Protestant  world.  It  had  already  gained  some 
prestige  since  its  first  volume  in  1778.  In  this  magazine,  Jan- 
uary, 1785, 13  Wesley  printed  an  account  of  Raikes's  school  in  a 
letter  written  by  Raikes  himself,  under  the  caption  "An  Account 
of  the  Sunday-Charity  Schools,  lately  begun  in  various  Parts  of 
England."14  But  John  Wesley  had  little  need  of  urging  the 
Methodists  by  printed  page  to  engage  in  this  excellent  work. 
His  superintendent's  duties  took  him  from  society  to  society, 
where  he  came  into  direct  contact  with  all  activities  of  the 
churches  and  could  encourage  and  urge  on  the  work  among  chil- 
dren. Hence  Wesley's  Journal  gives  us  the  best  information 
upon  the  early  Wesleyan  Sunday  school  progress.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  in  this  connection  that  John  Wesley,  and  even  more 
his  brother,  Charles  Wesley,  were  prolific  hymn  writers.  The 
great  prominence  given  to  singing  in  the  Wesleyan  Sunday 
schools  is  very  manifest.  Wesley's  first  notice  of  this  new  insti- 
tution was  in  July,  1784,  when  he  writes : 

Sunday,  18. — I  preached,  morning  and  afternoon,  in  Bingley 
church,  but  it  would  not  near  contain  the  congregation.  Before 
service  I  stepped  into  the  Sunday  school,  which  contains  two 
hundred  and  forty  children,  taught  every  Sunday  by  several 
masters,  and  superintended  by  the  curate.  So,  many  children 
in  one  parish  are  restrained  from  open  sin,  and  taught  a  little 
good  manners,  at  least,  as  well  as  to  read  the  Bible.  I  find  these 
schools  springing  up  wherever  I  go.     Perhaps  God  may  have  a 

'"Arminian  Magazine,  vol.  viii,  p.  41.  (Called  Methodist  Magazine  be- 
ginning with  1798.) 

,4"By  the  close  of  1786,  it  is  conjectured  not  less  than  250,000  children 
were  every  Sunday  receiving  instruction"  (J.  A.  James,  The  Sunday  School 
Teacher's  Guide,  p.  16). 

18 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

deeper  end  therein  than  men  are  aware  of.    Who  knows  but  some 
of  these  schools  may  become  nurseries  for  Christians? 

From  this  time  on  to  the  end  of  Wesley's  ministry  in  1790 
his  Journal  makes  frequent  mention  of  the  Sunday  school. 

April  16  [1786]. —  (Being  Easter  Day)  I  crossed  over  to 
Warrington,  where,  having  read  prayers,  preached,  and  admin- 
istered the  Lord's  Supper,  I  hastened  back  to  Bolton.  The  house 
was  crowded  the  more,  because  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  children, 
who  are  taught  in  our  Sunday  schools :  such  an  army  of  them  got 
about  me  when  I  came  out  of  the  chapel  that  I  could  scarcely 
disengage  myself  from  them. 

Friday,  27  [July,  1787]. — We  went  on  to  Bolton.  Here 
are  eight  hundred  poor  children  taught  in  our  Sunday  schools,  by 
about  eighty  masters,  who  receive  no  pay  but  what  they  are  to 
receive  from  their  Great  Master.  About  a  hundred  of  them 
(part  boys  and  part  girls)  are  taught  to  sing;  and  they  sung  so 
true,  that,  all  singing  together,  there  seemed  to  be  but  one  voice. 
The  house  was  thoroughly  filled,  while  I  explained  and  applied 
the  first  commandment.  What  is  all  morality  or  religion  without 
this?  A  mere  castle  in  the  air.  In  the  evening,  many  of  the  chil- 
dren still  hovering  round  the  house,  I  desired  forty  or  fifty  to 
come  in  and  sing,  "Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame."  Although 
some  of  them  were  silent,  not  being  able  to  sing  for  tears,  yet  the 
harmony  was  such  as  I  believe  could  not  be  equalled  in  the  king's 
chapel. 

Friday,  18  [April,  1788]. — Notice  having  been  given  at 
Wigan  of  my  preaching  a  sermon  for  the  Sunday  schools,  the 
people  flocked  from  all  quarters  in  such  a  manner  as  never  was 
seen  before.     I  spoke  with  all  possible  plainness. 

Saturday,  19  [April,  1788]. — We  went  on  to  Bolton,  where 
I  preached  in  the  evening.  .  .  .  There  is  not  such  a  set  of 
singers  in  any  of  the  Methodist  congregations  in  the  three  king- 
doms. There  cannot  be,  for  we  have  near  a  hundred  such  trebles, 
boys  and  girls,  selected  out  of  our  Sunday  schools,  and  accurately 
taught,  as  are  not  found  together  in  any  chapel,  cathedral,  or 
music  room  within  the  four  seas.  Besides,  the  spirit  with  which 
they  all  sing,  and  the  beauty  of  many  of  them,  so  suits  the  melody, 
that  I  defy  any  to  exceed  it;  except  the  singing  of  angels  in  our 
Father's  house. 

Sunday,  20  [April,  1788]. — About  three  I  met  between  nine 
hundred  and  a  thousand  of  the  children  belonging  to  our  Sun- 

19 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

day  schools.  I  never  saw  such  a  sight  before.  They  were  all 
exactly  clean,  as  well  as  plain,  in  their  apparel.  All  were  serious 
and  well  behaved.  Many,  both  boys  and  girls,  had  as  beautiful 
faces  as,  I  believe,  England  or  Europe  can  afford.  When  they  all 
sung  together,  and  none  of  them  out  of  tune,  the  melody  was 
beyond  that  of  any  theater;  and,  what  is  best  of  all,  many  of  them 
truly  fear  God,  and  some  rejoice  in  his  salvation.  These  are  a 
pattern  to  all  the  town.  Their  usual  diversion  is  to  visit  the  poor 
that  are  sick  (sometimes  six  or  eight,  or  ten  together)  to  exhort, 
comfort,  and  pray  with  them.  Frequently  ten  or  more  of  them 
get  together  to  sing  and  pray  for  themselves;  sometimes  thirty 
or  forty ;  and  are  so  earnestly  engaged,  alternately  singing,  pray- 
ing, and  crying,  that  they  know  not  how  to  part. 

Tuesday,  8  [June,  1790,  at  Newcastle]. — In  the  evening 
I  preached  to  the  children  of  our  Sunday  School,  six  or  seven 
hundred  of  whom  were  present.  N.  B.,  None  of  our  masters 
or  mistresses  teach  for  pay :  they  seek  a  reward  that  man  cannot 
give. 

Sunday,  13  [June,  1790]. — In  the  morning  I  preached  a 
charity  sermon  in  Monkwearmouth  church,  for  the  Sunday 
school ;  which  has  already  cleared  the  streets  of  all  the  children 
that  used  to  play  there  on  a  Sunday  from  morning  to  evening. 

Tuesday,  19  [October,  1790,  at  Lynn]. — In  the  evening  all 
the  clergymen  in  the  town,  except  one  who  was  lame,  were  pres- 
ent at  the  preaching.  They  are  all  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the 
Methodists;  as,  indeed,  are  most  of  the  townsmen;  who  give  a 
fair  proof  by  contributing  so  much  to  our  Sunday  schools ;  so  that 
there  is  near  twenty  pounds  in  hand. 

Two  letters  written  by  Wesley  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  are 
of  note  here.  One  of  these  was  to  Duncan  Wright  at  Bolton, 
dated  from  London,  January  9,  1788.    He  wrote: 

You  send  me  a  comfortable  account  of  the  work  of  God  in 
your  circuit.  I  cannot  doubt  but  a  blessing  redounds  to  you  all 
for  the  sake  of  the  poor  children.  I  verily  think  these  Sunday 
schools  are  one  of  the  noblest  specimens  of  charity  which  have 
been  set  on  foot  in  England  since  the  time  of  William  the  Con- 
queror.15 

An  even  later  testimony  is  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Charles 
Atmore  from  Madeley  March  24,  1790.     It  read: 

'Tyerman,  L. :  Life  and  Times  of  John  Wesley,  vol.  iii,  p.  522. 
20 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

I  am  glad  you  have  set  up  Sunday  schools  at  Newcastle. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  institutions  which  have  been  seen  in 
Europe  for  some  centuries,  and  will  do  more  and  more  good, 
provided  the  Teachers  and  Inspectors  do  their  duty.  Nothing 
can  prevent  the  success  of  this  blessed  work,  but  the  neglect  of  the 
instruments.  Therefore  be  sure  to  watch  over  them  with  all  care, 
that  they  may  not  grow  weary  of  well  doing.16 

When  Wesley  paid  his  last  visit  to  Newcastle  he  preached 
from  Psa.  34.  11  to  the  children  of  the  Sunday  school.  "It  was 
calculated  to  profit  both  them  and  persons  of  riper  years.  The 
sermon  was  literally  composed  and  delivered  in  words  of  not 
more  than  two  syllables."  17  Of  Mr.  Wesley  it  was  said  that  he 
always  had  a  smile  and  a  kind  word  for  the  children,  "and  his 
manner  was  to  place  his  hands  on  their  heads  and  give  them  his 
heavenly  benediction." 

It  is  seen  from  Wesley's  entries  in  his  Journal,  as  well  as 
from  his  correspondence,  that  two  schools  stand  out  prominently 
as  largest  in  numbers  and  of  exemplary  success,  those  of  Bolton 
and  Newcastle.  In  the  Arminian  Magazine  for  September, 
1788,18  there  is  the  following  detailed  description  of  the  Bolton 
Sunday  School: 

In  the  Methodist  Sunday  school  at  Bolton  le  Moors  there 
are  about  eight  hundred  scholars,  forty  masters,  and  nearly  as 
many  assistants  of  one  kind  or  other.  All  that  are  employed  in 
this  school  (whatever  their  offices  are)  offer  their  services  will- 
ingly, without  any  pecuniary  fee  or  reward.  Every  man  stands 
close  to  his  station,  and  enters  into  the  spirit  of  his  work,  with  an 
intention  to  do  all  the  good  in  his  power  to  the  children  under  his 
care.  The  masters  love  the  children,  and  delight  to  instruct  them ; 
the  children  love  their  masters,  and  cheerfully  receive  instruction. 
It  is  about  two  years  since  they  first  began  the  school  in  our  large 
convenient  Chapel :  and  the  great  good  attending  the  undertaking, 
appears  more  and  more  daily :  not  only  in  Bolton,  but  in  the 

"Pardee,  R.  G. :  John  Wesley  and  Sunday  Schools,  Sunday  School 
Journal,  October,  1868,  vol.  i,  pp.  1,  2.  Quoting  from  the  London  Sunday 
School  Teachers'  Magazine  of  1845.  See  Methodist  Magazine  (London),. 
1846,  p.  564. 

17Ibid. 

"Arminian  Magazine  (London),  vol.  xi,  1788,  pp.  489,  490. 
21 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

adjacent  places  from  whence  children  come  constantly  to  the 
school,  and  others  who  live  in  the  country  several  miles  off. 

Many  of  the  poor  children  about  Bolton  have  been  greatly 
neglected  in  their  education,  and  were  almost  a  proverb  for  wick- 
edness, especially  Sabbath-breaking:  which  crime  is  often  the 
forerunner  of  the  worst  of  evils. 

But  we  see  at  present  the  prospect  of  a  glorious  reformation. 
Among  many  who  attend  at  our  place  there  is  already  a  great 
change  in  their  manners,  morals,  and  learning.  They  are  taught 
to  read  and  write  by  persons  who  are  very  well  qualified  for  the 
work.  Many  of  the  children  can  read  well  in  the  Bible,  and  write 
a  tolerable  hand ;  so  that  they  are  qualified  for  any  common  busi- 
ness. Their  natural  rusticity  is  also  greatly  worn  off,  and  their 
behavior  is  modest  and  decent.  About  one  hundred  are  taught 
to  sing  the  praises  of  God ;  in  which  they  have  made  great  pro- 
ficiency, to  the  admiration  of  those  who  hear  them. 

But  what  is  better  than  all  the  rest,  the  principles  of  religion 
are  instilled  into  their  minds.  The  masters  endeavor  to  impress 
them  with  the  fear  of  God ;  and  by  that  to  make  all  vice  and  wick- 
edness hateful  to  them ;  and  urge  them  to  obedience  by  the  pre- 
cepts and  motives  of  the  gospel.  Each  class  is  spoken  to  sepa- 
rately every  Sunday,  on  the  nature  of  religion,  and  are  taught 
their  duty  to  God,  their  neighbor  and  themselves,  when  the  in- 
structions are  enforced  by  serious  counsels,  and  solemn  prayers. 

Some  of  the  other  leaders  in  this  movement  are  worthy  of 
special  mention.  Conspicuous  among  them  was  the  Rev.  John 
Fletcher.  "For  many  years,"  says  Mrs.  Fletcher,  in  a  letter  to 
her  brother-in-law,  printed  in  1786,  "he  had  felt  with  the  deepest 
sensibility  the  disconsolate  condition  of  poor,  uninstructed  chil- 
dren, and  some  years  ago  began  a  school  which  he  taught,  every 
day;  but  lately  hearing  of  the  Sunday  schools,  he  thought  much 
upon  them,  and  then  set  about  the  work.  Three  hundred  children 
were  soon  collected,  which  he  took  every  opportunity  of  instruct- 
ing till  the  very  last  Thursday  before  his  illness."  10  "He  wrote 
a  paper  entitled  'The  Advantages  Likely  to  Arise  from  Sunday 
Schools.'     He  contemplated  writing  various  little  tracts  for  the 

"A  Letter  on  the  Death  of  the  Rev.  John  Fletcher,  quoted  in  Methodist 
Magazine  (London),  May,  1846,  pp.  561,  562.    See  Wesley's  Life  of  Fletcher, 

quoted  in  Annual  Report  for  1846.  p.  100. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

use  of  Sunday  schools;  but  he  was  called  to  his  eternal  home  in 
August,  1785,  before  this  work  was  effected."  20 

John  Lancaster  in  1785  founded  and  conducted  the  London 
Road  Wesleyan  Sunday  School  in  a  cellar  in  Manchester.  It  was 
soon  after  removed  to  a  room  built  especially  for  its  accommoda- 
tion.21 

August,  1784,  Wesley's  old  friend,  Cornelius  Bayley,  who 
had  been  for  ten  years  one  of  the  masters  of  Kingswood  school, 
but  now  an  ordained  minister  in  Manchester,  published  an  "Ad- 
dress to  the  Public  on  Sunday  Schools,"  in  which  he  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  schools  in  Leeds  and  urged  Manchester  to  follow  the 
example.  The  address  had  a  powerful  effect  and  the  magistrates 
patronized  his  scheme.  He  "became  one  of  the  chief,  though  not 
only  instruments,  of  establishing  Sunday  schools  in  Manchester 
and  its  neighborhood."  22 

The  Rev.  Richard  Rodda,  one  of  Wesley's  preachers  and  a 
deep  friend  of  the  new  institution,23  records  that  in  1786  he, 
with  the  leading  members  of  the  Methodist  society,  formed  a 
Sunday  school  in  Chester  and  soon  had  nearly  seven  hundred 
children  "under  regular  masters  who  taught  the  children  gratis, 
having  nothing  in  view  but  the  good  of  the  rising  generation."  24 
Wesley  wrote  to  him  in  January,  1787:  "I  am  glad  you  have 
taken  in  hand  that  blessed  work  of  setting  up  Sunday  schools  in 
Chester.  It  seems  these  will  be  one  great  means  of  reviving  reli- 
gion throughout  the  nation.  I  wonder  Satan  has  not  yet  sent  out 
some  able  champion  against  them."  25 

"Sunday  schools  were  introduced  into  the  metropolis  by  the 
Calvinistic  Methodist,  Rowland  Hill,  in  1786."  26 

20Thomas  Marriott:  Sunday  Schools,  Methodist  Magazine  (London), 
1846,  p.  '562. 

21Tyerman,  L. :  Life  and  Times  of  John  Wesley,  vol.  iii,  p.  416. 

"Ibid. 

23He  was  the  chief  agent  in  establishing  the  Sunday  school  in  Burslem 
in  1796  that  numbered  681  two  years  later.  Methodist  Magazine  (London), 
1846,  footnote,  p.  563. 

"Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1846,  p.  562. 

25Ibid. 

26Stevens,  Abel:  History  of  Methodism,  vol.  ii,  p.  485. 

23 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

William  Marriott  was  one  of  the  early  Methodist  leaders  in 
the  Sunday  school  movement. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  devoted  all  his  spare  time  to 
the  promotion  of  Sunday  schools,  and  built  the  first  that  was 
erected  in  London,  chiefly  at  his  own  cost,  at  Friar's  Mount, 
Bethel  Green,  on  the  top  of  which  he  placed  the  bell  which  he 
had  bought  from  the  old  Foundry  at  Moorfields.27 

As  a  London  Sunday  school  superintendent  he  had  charge 
of  between  six  and  seven  hundred  scholars.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  compiled  the  Scrip- 
ture Reading  Lessons  published  by  them,  being  also  the  first  to 
prepare  and  publish  text  books  for  every  day  in  the  year.  His 
"Plan  for  the  Regulation  of  Sunday  Schools"  proved  very  satis- 
factory and  was  widely  circulated.  In  1805  he  commenced  the 
publication  of  The  Youth's  Magazine,  aided  by  two  of  his 
friends,  said  to  be  "the  parent  of  all  the  religious  periodicals  for 
young  people."  He  was  the  principal  editor  of  this  magazine  for 
ten  years.28 

In  1805  a  prominent  Wesleyan  minister  preached  before  the 
Sunday  School  Union  in  London  the  well-known  and  helpful 
anniversary  sermon  on  "I  Am  Doing  a  Great  Work."  29 

§  3.    Sunday  School  Plans  and  Later  Legislation  in 

England  that  May  Have  Served  as  Models  for 

American  Methodism 

Irish  Methodism  was  very  quick  to  respond  to  the  Sunday 
school  idea.  The  Conference  of  1794  voted:  "Let  Sunday 
schools  be  established  as  far  as  possible  in  all  the  towns  of  this 
kingdom  where  we  have  societies."  30     By  1805  comprehensive 


•'Stevenson,  George :  City-Road  Chapel,  London,  and  its  Associations, 
P-  574- 

2HIbid.,  also  Methodist  Magazine   (London),  1864,  p.  566. 

"Methodist  Magazine   (London),  1864,  p.  566.     Also  Bunting,  Thomas 
Percival:  The  Life  of  Jabez  Bunting,  vol.  i,  p.  238. 

""Minutes  of  the  Irish  Conference,  p.  9;  also  Methodist  Magazine,  1846. 
P-  565- 

24 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Sunday  school  legislation  had  been  passed.     It  was  expanded  by- 
later  Conferences.31 

Need  for  organized  Sunday  school  activities  was  soon  felt, 
especially  such  organization  as  would  make  possible  a  closer 
cooperation  and  more  efficient  assistance  to  meet  pressing  prob- 
lems. In  March,  1798,  a  "Methodist  Sunday  School  Society" 
was  formed  at  City-Road  Chapel,  London.  In  the  following 
December  Dr.  Coke  and  Dr.  Whitehead  preached  the  first  ser- 
mons before  it. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hymn  sung  by  the  children  on  the  occasion 
it  is  added:  "This  Society  was  instituted  for  the  purpose  of 

Careful  directions  were  given  at  the  same  Conference  concerning  "the 
education  of  children"  in  weekly  "classes"  as  apart  from  the  establishing  of 
Sunday  school.     (Smith,  William:  Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Ireland,  p.  77.) 

"In  1805  the  Conference  passed  the  following  question  and  answers, 
showing  the  prominence  given  to  Sunday  schools  at  that  time : 

"Q-  23-  What  shall  be  done  to  promote  Sunday  Schools  in  Ireland? 

"A.  I.  Every  superintendent  is  desired  to  establish  a  Sunday  school  in 
every  society  in  town  and  country  within  his  circuit,  where  it  is  practicable. 

"2.  The  objects  of  this  institution  are  to  teach  children  and  other 
illiterate  persons  to  read  and  understand  the  Scriptures  and  to  instruct  them 
in  every  branch  of  practical  Christianity. 

"3.  Children  of  all  denominations  are  subjects  of  this  institution  without 
partiality. 

"4.  No  persons  shall  be  admitted,  or  continued  as  teachers  in  these 
schools,  who  are  not  of  unexceptionable  moral  and  religious  character. 

"5.  All  the  teachers  shall  give  their  labors  gratuitously,  and  look  for 
their  reward  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

"6.  Each  school  shall  be  governed  by  a  president,  and  two  or  more 
guardians ;  the  superintendent  of  the  circuit  being  always  the  president. 

"7.  The  chairmen  of  districts  shall,  at  their  annual  meetings,  inquire 
particularly  into  the  state  of  this  institution  within  their  districts,  respectively, 
and  make  their  report  to  the  Conference. 

"8.  No  Sunday  school  shall  be  kept  during  canonical  hours,  or  while 
the  clergyman  is  performing  divine  service  in  the  parish  where  the  school 
is  established."  (William  Smith's  Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Ireland,  pp.  90, 
91.) 

In  1822  the  Conference  formed  "The  General  Committee  for  instituting 
and  encouraging  Wesleyan  Methodist  Sunday  Schools  in  Ireland"  (Ibid.,  pp. 
139,  140).  For  other  Sunday  school  legislation,  see  Ibid.,  pp.  102,  125,  127, 
128,  and  for  statistics  of  specific  Sunday  School  societies,  pp.  207-210.  It 
is  to  be  plainly  seen  that  Methodism  in  Ireland  followed  the  Sunday  school 
plans  of  Methodism  in  England. 

25 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

establishing  Sunday  schools  in  London,  upon  a  similar  plan  to 
those  at  Manchester,  Stockport,  etc.,  where  the  children  are 
taught  by  persons  who  attend  gratis."  32 

In  the  year  1802  the  leaders  in  the  Methodist  Sunday  schools 
in  London  formed  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  corresponding 
with  "the  Friends  of  Sunday  Schools"  with  a  view  of  promoting 
the  plan  of  establishing  schools  and  on  the  basis  of  gratuitous 
teaching  only,  throughout  the  kingdom.33  This  new  movement 
in  the  Sunday  school  work  brought  gratifying  results.  The  pro- 
posed plans  were  widely  distributed  and  new  life  was  given  to  the 
work.  In  the  transition  from  pay  to  gratuitous  teaching  the  en- 
couraging of  the  "Visiters  and  Teachers  of  this  Institution"  was 
necessary.  There  is  preserved  the  form  of  the  circular  letter 
and  ticket  for  a  dinner  March,  1799,  given  to  them  in  London 
by  the  treasurer  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Society,  William 
Marsden.  The  organization  had  established  two  schools  in 
which  were  above  four  hundred  children  and  forty  teachers.  In 
May  and  November  clothing  was  distributed  as  a  reward,  but  on 
account  of  finances  the  plan  had  to  be  discontinued.34 

In  the  consideration  of  legislation  on  the  instruction  of  chil- 
dren a  book  published  in  1797  is  of  importance.35    There  are  here 

32Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1846,  p.  565. 

'"Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1802,  pp.  388-390  and  430-435.  Myles. 
William:  A  Chronological  History  of  the  People  Called  Methodists  (1813), 
p.  167. 

34Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1846,  pp.  565,  566. 

"The  heading  reads : 

Minutes 

of 
Several  Conversations 
between  the 
Rev.  John  Wesley,  A.M.,  and  the  Preachers  in  Connexion  with  him, 
containing 
the  form  of  discipline 
established  among  the  Preachers  and  People  in  the  Methodist 
Societies. 
London 
Printed  for  George  Whiteficld,  City-Road,  and  sold  at  all  the  Meth- 
odist Preaching  Houses  in  town  and  country, 

1797. 
26 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

gathered  together  the  conversations  that  took  place  between 
Wesley  and  his  pastors  in  the  form  of  questions  and  answers. 
Much  of  the  exhortation  given  in  the  legislation  of  1766  is  here 
repeated.  As  before,  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  visitation  and 
instruction  of  people  in  their  homes.  Under  such  a  caption  the 
suggestions  read : 

What  shall  we  do  for  the  rising  generation?  Unless  we 
take  care  of  this,  the  present  revival  will  last  only  the  age  of  a 
man.  Who  will  labor  herein?  Let  him  that  is  zealous  for  God 
and  the  souls  of  men  begin  now. 

We  must  hear  what  the  children  have  learned  by  heart. 
Choose  some  of  the  weightiest  points,  and  try  if  they  understand 
them;  such  as,  "Do  you  believe  you  are  a  sinner?  What  does 
sin  deserve  ?  What  remedy  has  God  provided  for  guilty,  helpless 
sinners?"  36 

With  the  question  it  is  recommended  that  a  fitting  answer  be 
suggested;  suitable  illustrations  are  given  that  seem  to  be  for 
young  and  old  alike.  In  these  noted  Conversations  there  is  a  sec- 
tion entitled  "On  Instructing  the  Children."     It  reads: 

Where  there  are  ten  children  in  a  Society  we  must  meet  them 
at  least  an  hour  every  week ;  talk  with  them  whenever  we  see  any 
of  them  at  home ;  pray  in  earnest  for  them ;  diligently  instruct 
and  vehemently  exhort  all  parents  at  their  own  houses.  Some 
will  say,  "I  have  no  gift  for  this."  Gift  or  no  gift,  you  are  to  do 
this,  or  else  you  are  not  called  to  be  a  Methodist  Preacher.  Do  it 
as  you  can,  till  you  can  do  it  as  you  would.  Pray  earnestly  for 
the  gift,  and  use  every  help  God  hath  put  into  your  way,  in  order 
to  attain  it.  Preach  expressly  on  the  education  of  children  when 
you  make  the  collection  for  Kingswood-School.37 

With  1805  there  began  a  series  of  important  legislations  on 
Sunday  school  work  in  the  regular  sessions  of  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
ference. The  instruction  of  children  became  more  and  more 
focused  upon  the  Sunday  school  effort.  In  the  above  mentioned 
year  we  find  in  the  legislation  the  following  paragraph : 


86lbid.,  p.  687. 
"Section  18,  p.  688. 

27 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

We  have  reason  to  believe,  that  there  is,  upon  the  whole,  an 
increase  of  vital,  genuine  piety  in  great  numbers  of  the  people 
under  our  care.  We  judge,  among  other  evidences  of  this  which 
might  be  mentioned,  that  the  unceasing  efforts  which  are  made 
to  enlarge  the  work  of  God,  the  great  increase  of  charitable  insti- 
tutions among  us,  such  as  Sunday  schools  for  the  education  of 
poor  children,  and  benevolent  Societies  for  the  relief  of  the  sick 
poor  of  all  denominations,  with  the  liberal  manner  in  which  all 
such  institutions  are  supported,  are  no  contemptible  proofs  that 
we  are  not  mistaken  in  our  ideas  of  this  matter ;  since  in  these  and 
such  like  ways  our  people  show  their  faith  by  their  works,  as 
directed  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles.38 

The  relation  of  the  Sunday  school  to  the  public  worship  of 
the  church  early  became  a  question  for  legislation.  In  1808  the 
Conference  spoke  emphatically  upon  this,  declaring  that 

As  many  of  the  children  as  can  possibly  be  accommodated 
with  room,  ought  invariably  to  attend  our  public  worship,  at  least 
once  on  every  Lord's  day.39 

In  181 7  they  added: 

In  order  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the  full  religious  benefit 
which  such  institutions  are  capable  of  affording,  it  is  essentially 
necessary  that  they  should  be  connected  as  closely  as  possible 
with  the  Church  of  Christ;  and  that  the  school  hours  should  be 
so  arranged  as  not  to  interfere,  more  than  is  absolutely  unavoid- 
able, with  the  punctual  attendance,  both  of  teachers  and  children, 
on  those  ordinances  of  public  worship  which  are  appointed  by 
God.40 

The  holding  of  the  schools  for  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  poor  upon  Sunday  soon  suggested  the  ethical  question 
of  what  could  be  conscientiously  taught.  The  Conference  of 
1823  unanimously  passed  this  decisive  word: 


"Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  ii,   1799  to   1807,  p.  294, 
year  1805. 

"Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  1808-1813,  published  by  John  Mason,  p.  31,  year  1808. 

*"Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  1814-1818,  published  by  John  Mason,  pp.  343,  344,  year 
1817. 

28 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

We  also  advise  all  our  friends  mildly,  but  steadily,  to  dis- 
countenance the  plan  of  teaching  the  art  of  writing  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  to  the  children  of  Sunday  schools,  as  one  which  has  an 
injurious  effect  both  on  teachers  and  scholars;  occupies  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  Lord's  Day,  that  might  be  more  profit- 
ably employed  in  catechetical  and  other  religious  instruction ;  and, 
being  wholly  secular  in  its  direct  object  and  tendency,  is,  in  our 
judgment,  an  unjustifiable  infringement  on  the  sanctity  of  the 
Sabbath.41 

The  years  1826- 1827  were  banner  years  for  the  Methodist 
Sunday  school  movement.  At  the  Liverpool  Conference  of  1826 
careful  attention  was  given  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  numer- 
ous Sunday  schools  of  the  church.  Previous  legislations  were 
confirmed  with  this  explanatory  sentence : 

These  rules  all  appear  to  result  from  the  great  and  indispens- 
able principle,  that  "Sunday  schools  ought  to  be  strictly  and 
entirely  religious  institutions,"  and  should  be  connected  as  closely 
as  possible  with  the  Church  of  Christ.42 

The  Conference  approved  and  commended  the  Sunday  school 
and  appointed  a  committee  to  make  out  a  general  outline  of 
rules  and  recommendations  for  Methodism.  At  the  Confer- 
ence of  1827,  held  in  Manchester,  these  rules,  drawn  up  chiefly 
by  Mr.  J.  Bunting,  were  approved  and  fully  adopted.43  The  four 
basal  principles  were : 

That  "Sunday  schools  should  be  strictly  and  entirely  reli- 
gious institutions."  44 


"Ibid.,  vol.  v,  1819-1824,  pp.  425,  426,  year  1823. 

^Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  1825-1830,  pp.  169,  170,  year  1826. 

"Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  1825-1830,  pp.  283-291,  year  1827.  See  also  Methodist 
Magazine  (London),  1827,  pp.  693-697,  for  full  report;  Bunting,  T.  P.:  Life 
of  Jabez  Bunting,  vol.  i,  p.  289. 

""Neither  the  Art  of  Writing,  nor  any  other  merely  secular  branch  of 
knowledge,  shall  be  taught  on  the  Lord's  Day.  But  we  strongly  recommend 
that  Writing  and  the  elements  of  Arithmetic,  shall  be  taught  to  the  elder 
Scholars,  both  male  and  female,  on  one  or  more  week-day  evenings,  as  a 
reward  for  the  regular  attendance  and  good  conduct  on  the  Sabbath." 

29 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

That  these  "schools  designed  for  the  religious  education  of 
poor  children  ought  to  be  conducted  in  distinct  and  avowed  con- 
nexion with  some  particular  branch  of  the  visible  church  of 
Christ." 

That  Sunday  schools  should  be  so  conducted  as  not  to  inter- 
fere with  public  worship. 

That  the  bustle  and  secularity  of  mere  school  business  should 
be  as  much  as  possible  avoided  and  the  spiritual  object  kept  in 
mind. 

A  footnote  to  the  regulations  reads : 

The  Conference  recommends  to  the  careful  perusal  and  con- 
sideration of  all  connected  with  our  Sunday  schools,  a  pamphlet 
lately  published  by  the  Rev.  Valentine  Ward,  entitled  "Observa- 
tions on  Sunday  Schools,  &c." 

At  this  period  the  attitude  of  Methodism  to  the  Sunday 
school  and  the  goals  of  her  efforts  are  best  expressed  in  a  minute 
passed  by  the  Conference  of  1819: 

We  are  happy  to  find  that  the  numerous  institutions  among 
us,  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  abroad,  for  the  relief  of  the  sick 
and  poor  at  home,  and  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the 
poor,  continue  to  meet,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  public 
affairs,  with  an  encouragement  so  liberal.  .  .  .  The  extension 
of  true  religion  at  home  will  not  be  less  their  care  [than  foreign 
missions]  and  the  object  of  their  liberality  and  prayers.  Among 
other  institutions  for  this  purpose  are  our  Sunday  schools;  and 
we  rejoice  in  their  number,  the  zeal  with  which  they  are  con- 
ducted, and  the  sacrifices  of  so  many  of  our  young  people  who  act 
as  teachers,  and  the  benefits  which  are  constantly  resulting  from 
them.  In  proportion  to  the  value  of  these  institutions,  we  are 
anxious  that  they  should  be  so  conducted  as  to  yield  their  full 
proportion  of  moral  good ;  and  that,  in  order  to  this,  they  should 
be  preserved  on  their  first  principles.  We  would,  therefore, 
exhort  all  who  have  kindly  and  benevolently  engaged  in  them  to 
watch  over  them  with  a  pious  anxiety,  that  they  may  fully  com- 
municate to  the  children  educated  in  them  the  knowledge  and 
influence  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Let  them  recollect,  that  a  Sun- 
day school  is  strictly  and  entirely  a  religious  institution,  whose 
object  is  to  train  up  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord;  and  that  whatever  has  not  a  direct  tendency  to  this  end 
is  equally  inconsistent  with  the  principal  design  of  such  charities, 

30 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

and  with  the  sanctity  of  the  sacred  day  in  which  they  are  con- 
ducted, and  that  ultimately  it  will  prove  subversive  of  all  genuine 
moral  and  religious  effect.  We  regard  it  as  essential  to  the  reli- 
gious character  of  Sunday  schools,  that  the  children  should  be 
carefully  instructed  by  catechism  in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of 
religion;  that  they  should  be  accustomed  to  read  the  Scriptures, 
accompanied  with  the  pious  advices  and  explanations  of  their 
teachers ;  that  they  should  on  every  Sabbath  be  regularly  brought 
to  the  public  worship  of  God;  and  that  the  teachers  themselves 
should  be  persons  who  "fear  God  and  work  righteousness,"  "apt 
to  teach"  and  enforce  the  truths  of  experimental  and  practical 
piety.  Under  the  direction  of  such  views,  these  valuable  institu- 
tions will  be  the  means  of  spreading  through  society  the  principles 
of  truth  and  holiness;  of  preserving  from  the  poison  of  infidelity 
(now,  alas!  so  industriously  diffused)  thousands  of  our  rising 
youth,  of  conveying  light  and  purity  into  the  dwellings  of  the 
poor,  and  of  correcting  the  morals  of  society.  They  may  then 
with  hope  and  confidence  be  commended  to  the  blessing  of  God.45 

A  sentence  from  the  legislation  of  1822  shows  how  com- 
pletely Methodism  had  changed  her  effort  from  that  of  the  educa- 
tion of  the  poor  to  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  the  children: 

All  the  managers  and  teachers  should  consider  the  eternal 
salvation  of  the  children  as  their  grand  object  in  those  institu- 
tions; and  should  be  careful  that  every  part  of  the  instruction 
given  to  them  is  such  as  may,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  lead 
them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour,  and  finally  to  eternal 
glory.46 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  very  decided  distinction  was 
made  between  Sunday  schools  for  the  poor  and  catechetical  in- 
struction for  the  children  of  the  societies.  Concerning  this  latter 
effort  the  Conference  of  1822  legislated,  placing  much  responsi- 
bility upon  the  parents : 

We  again  affectionately  recommend  an  increased  attention 
to  their  instruction  in  sound  Christian  principles,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  some  regular  plan  for  that  purpose.  If  a  system  of 
catechetical  instruction  were  constantly  pursued,   we  have  no 

"Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  v,  1819-1824,  pp.  62,  63. 
46Ibid.,  vol.  v,  1819-1824,  pp.  344,  345. 
31 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

doubt  it  would  be  attended  with  much  and  lasting  good.  Parents 
should  appoint  stated  times  for  that  necessary  and  important 
work  and  endeavor  to  render  them  as  profitable  as  possible. 
They  should  also  make  it  a  point  of  conscience  to  take  their  chil- 
dren with  them  to  the  public  worship  of  God.  Families  should 
appear  together  before  the  Lord;  for,  even  before  children  are 
capable  of  fully  understanding  the  sermons  which  are  delivered,  it 
is  of  importance  to  train  them  up  in  the  habit  of  regular  attend- 
ance on  public  worship,  that  a  love  to-  divine  ordinances  may  grow 
up  and  strengthen  as  they  rise  to  years  of  maturity.  We  likewise 
deem  it  necessary  to  caution  parents  against  permitting  their 
children  to  read  those  books  which  have  a  tendency  to  demoralize 
all  who  peruse  them,  especially  young  persons.47 

But  how  the  Sunday  school  should  be  connected  with  the 
church  became  early  in  the  development  of  the  institution  a  burn- 
ing question.  At  the  beginning  the  effort  was  that  of  benevolent 
individuals.  Wesley  from  the  first  placed  upon  his  ministers 
special  responsibility  relative  to  the  Sunday  school.  Indeed,  the 
Sunday  school  effort  with  him  was  merely  a  redirecting,  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  religious  instruction  of  the  children  by  the  pastors 
which  he  had  always  made  obligatory.  It  required  only  until 
1808  for  the  Methodist  Conference  to  demand  of  the  pastors 
official  responsibility  relative  to  the  Sunday  schools  in  their 
churches.    The  legislation  read : 

Let  all  the  Traveling  Preachers,  where  Sunday  schools  are 
established,  be  members  of  the  Committees  of  those  schools  which 
belong  to  us;  and  let  the  Superintendent  preside  in  their  meet- 
ings." 48 

Rapidly  the  Sunday  school  became  a  church  institution,  and  it 
might  legitimately  be  said  that  in  Methodism  the  original  chil- 
dren's catechetical  classes  absorbed  the  Sunday  school  with  this 
as  the  main  feature  in  the  result,  the  applying  to  the  children  of 
the  poor  the  blessings  hitherto  given  only  to  the  children  of  mem- 
bers of  the  societies. 


'Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  vol.  v,  1819-1824,  pp.  344,  345. 
"Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  1808-1813,  published  by  John  Mason,  p.  31,  year  1808. 
32 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

With  the  placing  of  the  responsibility  for  leadership  upon 
the  pastors  the  problems  relative  to  divisional  differences  were 
not  at  an  end.  It  was  difficult  to  get  the  leadership  and  final 
authority  transferred  from  the  benevolent  individuals,  who  were 
often  young  and  impulsive,  to  the  pastor  of  the  church,  and  still 
more  difficult  at  times  to  enforce  the  Methodist  standard  of  reli- 
gions education  only  in  Sunday  schools  that  had  in  them  influ- 
ences of  denominations  of  other  ideals  and  plans. 

In  Leeds  this  condition  was  illustrative.  Originally  all  the 
Sunday  schools  were  under  the  Established  Church;  then  the 
New  Schools  of  Nonconformists  of  various  denominations  were 
organized.  Later  all  but  the  Methodists  formed  schools  in  their 
own  churches.  These  New  Schools  were  conducted  contrary  to 
the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and,  although  really  Meth- 
odist schools,  their  original  character  was  urged  against  their 
being  brought  under  the  control  of  the  Methodist  ministry. 
Much  discord  ensued;  it  was  taken  into  the  Methodist  Confer- 
ence, where  all  centered  on  the  placing  of  an  organ  in  one  of  the 
chapels.  Secession  of  many  followed  and  Methodism  suffered 
throughout  England.     Smith  says : 

The  extent  of  the  religious  loss  produced  by  this  fatal  agita- 
tion will  never  be  told  in  this  world.49 

As  we  review  this  important  series  of  legislation  certain 
things  are  noted  as  epoch-making  and  many  facts  as  most  en- 
couraging : 

In  1748  the  preachers  were  directed  to  form  the  children 
into  "a  little  Society"  for  "suitable  exhortations." 

In  1766  detailed  instruction  for  the  religious  training  of 
children  was  published. 

From  1784  to  1797  much  emphasis  was  placed  upon  the  reli- 
gious instruction  of  children  in  their  homes  and  in  classes  formed 
for  them  and  upon  the  organizing  of  Sunday  schools  for  poor 
children. 

In  1798  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Society  was  formed. 

49Smith,  George :  History  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  vol.  iii,  p.  123. 
33 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

In  1805  the  work  of  the  Sunday  school  was  well  supported 
and  flourishing. 

In  1808  careful  attempt  was  made  to  link  the  Sunday  school 
more  closely  to  the  church  by  making  the  preacher  a  member  of 
the  Sunday  School  Committee,  and  by  urging  the  attendance  of 
the  children  upon  the  public  worship. 

The  Conference  of  1817  continued  the  same  effort,  making 
it  more  emphatic  that  teachers  and  children  should  attend  the 
church  services. 

A  significant  sentence  appears  in  the  minutes  of  1819: 

A  Sunday  school  is  strictly  and  entirely  a  religious  institu- 
tion, whose  object  is  to  train  up  children  in  the  nurture  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Lord. 

How  far  had  the  church  come  from  the  purpose  of  Raikes's 
"ragged  schools" ! 

In  1823  the  abandonment  of  aught  but  catechetical  and  reli- 
gious instruction  on  the  Sabbath  was  urged  strongly. 

The  Conferences  of  1826  and  1827,  those  eager  years  in 
Sunday  school  legislation,  crystallized  the  goals,  ideals,  methods, 
and  organization  for  all  Methodist  Sunday  schools.  By  1827  the 
character  of  this  new  institution  was  set,  that  of  a  catechetical 
Bible  school  with  its  goal  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Having  practically  completed  the  organization  of  its  own 
schools,  Methodism  in  the  following  year  recorded  itself,  in  its 
Conference  Minutes,  as  cooperative  with  the  Sunday  school 
movement  in  general.  Under  "Miscellaneous  Resolutions"  "a 
Society  for  the  support  and  encouragement  of  Sunday  schools 
throughout  the  British  Dominions"  was  recommended  and  con- 
tributions to  its  work  approved. 

A  comparison  of  figures  shows  the  effect  of  the  early  years 
of  effort. 

There  are  at  present  (1812)  about  sixty  thousand  children 
instructed  by  the  Methodists  in  Great  Britain,  on  the  Lord's 
Day.50 

'"Myles,  William:  A  Chronological  History  of  the  People  Called  Meth- 
odists (1813),  p.   167. 

34 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  growth  from  these  beginnings  is  to  be  seen  in  the  state 
of  the  Wesleyan  Sunday  schools  in  i860. 

Wesleyan  Methodism,  although  not  far  advanced  in  her  edu- 
cational progress,  had,  in  i860,  upward  of  sixty-eight  thousand 
children  under  religious  tuition  in  day  schools,  and  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four  thousand  and  nine  hundred  in  Sunday 
schools.  As  a  carefully  prepared  series  of  Catechisms,  contain- 
ing a  clear  exhibition  of  Christian  doctrine,  with  Scripture 
proofs,  adapted  to  the  ages  of  the  children,  is  generally  taught  in 
these  schools,  we  regard  these  institutions  as  important  elements 
of  instruction,  exerting  a  wide  and  continual  influence  on  the 
public  mind.51 

§  4.    Further  Early  Contributions  of  Methodism  to 
the  Sunday  School  Movement 

The  history  of  the  Sunday  school  movement  cannot  be 
written  without  reference  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  originating  from  the  exertions  of  a  Calvinistic  Methodist 
preacher,52  who  had  been  laboring  in  the  Sunday  school  cause 
in  Wales,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Charles,  of  Bala.  The  story  is 
well  told  by  Mr.  J.  A.  James : 

By  means  of  Sunday  school  education  in  Wales,  the  number 
of  readers  increased  far  beyond  any  supply  of  Welsh  Bibles 
which  could  be  obtained.  This  induced  the  indefatigable  Mr. 
Charles,  of  Bala,  to  undertake  a  journey  to  London,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  soliciting  a  private  subscription  from  his  friends  to  de- 
fray the  expense  of  printing  a  new  edition.  In  the  course  of  con- 
versation on  this  subject,  at  a  committee  meeting  of  the  Religious 
Tract  Society,  a  thought  came  into  the  mind  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Hughes,  a  thought  which  darted  as  one  of  the  brightest  beams 
from  the  fountain  of  light  and  life  above,  and  for  which  mil- 
lions through  eternity  will  bless  his  name,  that  a  little  more  exer- 
tion than  was  requisite  for  supplying  the  Principality  with  the 
Scriptures,  might  found  an  institution  that  should  go  on  increas- 

"Smith,  George :  History  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  vol.  iii,  p.  123. 

B2"In  1785  he  united  himself  to  the  Calvinistic  Methodists,  among  whom 
he  was  truly  a  laborer  eminently  successful,  till  the  day  of  his  decease."  (The 
History,  Constitution,  Rules  of  Discipline  and  Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
Calvinistic  Methodists  in  Wales,  p.  18,  1827,  J.  S.  Hughes,  printer.) 

35 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

ing  its  funds,  and  extending  its  operations,  till  not  only  the  Brit- 
ish dominions,  but  the  whole  world  should  be  furnished  with 
the  Word  of  God.  Such  was  the  origin  of  a  society  which  is  the 
glory  of  our  own  age  and  nation,  and  will  one  day  be  acknowl- 
edged as  the  blessing  of  all  ages  and  all  nations.  I  have  no  need 
to  trace  it  further  than  just  to  say,  that  it  was  warmly  embraced 
by  the  gentlemen  present,  and  steps  immediately  taken  to  give  it 
efficiency.  My  only  object  in  adverting  to  it,  was  to  show  its 
pedigree,  and  claim  it  as  the  blooming  daughter  of  the  Sunday 
school  institution.53 

The  same  author  gives  the  early  beginning  of  adult  Sunday 
school  work,  introducing  the  description  as  follows : 

In  tracing  the  growth  of  the  Sunday  school  institution  it 
would  be  an  unpardonable  omission  to  pass  by  in  silence  that 
noble  ramification  of  it,  the  instruction  of  adults.54  The  first 
scion  was  planted  by  Mr.  Charles,  upon  the  mountains  of  Wales, 
in  the  summer  of  1811. 

Mr.  Charles's  own  account,  taken  from  a  letter  which  he 
addressed  to  Dr.  Thomas  Pole,  January  4,  18 14,  extracts  of 
which  were  published  by  Dr.  Pole,  sets  forth  the  history  of  the 
beginning  and  success  of  this  remarkable  movement55 

We  had  no  particular  school  for  their  instruction  exclusively 
till  then,  though  many  attended  the  Sunday  schools  with  the  chil- 
dren, in  different  parts  of  the  country  previous  to  that  time. 
What  induced  me  first  to  think  of  establishing  such  an  institution, 
was  the  aversion  I  found  in  the  adults  to  associate  with  the  chil- 
dren in  their  schools.  The  first  attempt  succeeded  wonderfully, 
and  far  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectation,  and  still  continues 
in  a  prosperous  state.  The  report  of  the  success  of  this  school 
soon  spread  over  the  country,  and,  in  many  places,  the  illiterate 
adults  began  to  call  for  instruction.  In  one  county,  after  a  public 
address  had  been  delivered  to  them  on  that  subject,  the  adult 
poor,  even  the  aged,  flocked  to  the  Sunday  schools  in  crowds ; 

"James,  J.  A.:  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide  (1816),  p.  21. 

"Ibid,  p.  22. 

"'Pole,  Thomas,  M.D. :  History  and  Origin  of  the  Progress  of  Adult 
Schools  (1815),  p.  8  (footnote).  See  further  extracts  from  this  letter  of 
Thomas  Charles,  in  James,  J.  A. :  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide,  pp. 
22,  23. 

36 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

and  the  shopkeepers  could  not  immediately  supply  them  with  an 
adequate  number  of  spectacles.  Our  schools,  in  general,  are  kept 
in  our  chapels;  in  some  districts,  where  there  are  no  chapels, 
farmers,  in  the  summer  time,  lend  their  barns.  The  adults  and 
children  are  sometimes  in  the  same  room,  but  placed  in  different 
parts  of  it.  When  their  attention  is  gained  and  fixed  they  soon 
learn;  their  age  makes  no  great  difference,  if  they  are  able,  by  the 
help  of  glasses,  to  see  the  letters.  As  the  adults  have  no  time  to 
lose,  we  endeavor,  before  they  can  read,  to  instruct  them  without 
delay  in  the  first  principles  of  Christianity.  We  select  a  short 
portion  of  Scripture,  comprising,  in  plain  terms,  the  leading  doc- 
trines, and  repeat  them  to  the  learners  till  they  can  retain  them 
in  their  memories ;  and  which  they  are  to  repeat  the  next  time  we 
meet.56 

Thus  commenced  that  excellent  institution,  which  is  impart- 
ing the  elements  of  knowledge  and  the  benefits  of  religious  in- 
struction to  thousands,  who  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life; 
which  in  many  cases  by  teaching  the  aged  to  read,  seems  to  add  a 
lengthened  twilight  to  their  day  of  grace :  and  by  revealing  to 
them  the  things  that  belong  to  their  peace,  just  as  they  are  about 
to  be  hid  from  their  eyes,  accomplishes  the  words  of  inspiration, 
"In  the  evening  tide  it  shall  be  light."  57 

A  notable  letter58  is  published  by  J.  Henry  Harris  concerning 
Charles,  of  Bala,  who,  he  says,  was  to  Wales  what  Raikes  was 
to  England,  each  working  on  independent  lines  but  arriving  at 
similar  results.  The  letter  is  from  Charles's  grandson,  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Charles,  and  is  dated  December  24,  1863.  In  the  estab- 
lishment of  Circulating  Charity  Day  Schools  in  North  Wales, 
such  as  he  had  attended  in  his  boyhood,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Charles 
"first  saw  the  grand  principle  of  the  Welsh  Sabbath  schools." 

The  day  schools,  which  survived  for  about  twenty  years, 
were  especial  means  toward  preparing  teachers  for  the  work  of 
the  Sabbath  school.  For  this  purpose  Mr.  Charles  himself  under- 
took the  instruction  of  those  whom  he  intended  to  become  Sab- 
bath school  teachers,  and  he  composed  two  catechisms  in  the 


66Ibid,  pp.  7.  8. 

"James,  J.  A.:  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide  (1816),  pp.  22-24. 
58Harris,  J.  Henry:  Robert  Raikes,  pp.  170-174. 
37 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Welsh  language  for  the  benefit  both  of  the  teachers  and  scholars 
of  the  Sunday  schools. 

The  distinguishing  principle  of  the  Welsh  Sunday  schools 
which  Mr.  Charles  incorporated  in  his  institution  for  the  reli- 
gious instruction  of  his  countrymen  was  that  the  object  of 
the  Sabbath  school  was  the  instruction  not  only  of  children  but 
of  adults  also,  and  that  it  was  intended  not  merely  to  teach  spell- 
ing and  reading,  but  to  bring  all  classes  together  to  examine  the 
Word  of  God  and  to  exchange  thoughts  upon  its  all-important 
truths. 

He  was  probably  the  first  also  who  established  regular  public 
meetings  in  connection  with  the  Sabbath  schools — meetings  to 
which  the  public  at  large  assembled  to  witness  and  listen  to  the 
regular  catechising  of  several  schools  which  had  come  together 
from  different  localities.  On  those  occasions  large  multitudes 
flocked  together. 

The  Welsh  Sunday  schools  are,  then,  to  this  day  wellsprings 
of  religious  instruction  to  men  of  every  age,  and  contain  gener- 
ally more  adult  members,  both  male  and  female,  than  children. 
They  are  specially  the  nurseries  of  our  churches,  both  as  regards 
members  and  ministers. 

In  England  the  development  of  the  adult  schools,  while  very 
much  later  than  that  of  the  schools  in  Wales,  was  nevertheless 
independent  of  that  movement,  the  originator  of  them  being 
''without  the  least  previous  knowledge  of  what  had  been  done  in 
the  Principality  of  Wales."  59  In  1804  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  been  formed  with  auxiliary  Societies  in  many 
counties  and  cities.  One  of  these  was  formed  in  Bristol,  called 
the  Bristol  Bible  Association.  These  young  men  divided  the  city 
and  its  environs  into  districts  and  appointed  subcommittees 
"whose  business  it  became  to  explore  the  streets,  the  lanes,  ami 
the  courts — to  enter  the  habitations  of  the  poor,  the  cottages  of 
misery,  and  the  chambers  of  wretchedness.  Amongst  the  un- 
numbered objects  who  excited  their  sympathy  and  Christian  com- 
miseration, they  met  with  many  who  could  not  read  the  Bible."  80 


"Pole,  Thomas,  M.D. :  A  History  of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  Adult 
Schools,  p.  10. 

"Ibid.,  p.  12. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

A  report  given  to  the  Bristol  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  February, 
1812,  contained  the  sentence: 

We  have  been  necessarily  obliged  to  omit  a  great  number  of 
poor  inhabitants  who  could  not  read,  and  are  therefore  not  likely 
to  be  benefited  by  the  possession  of  the  Bible. 

There  was  present  at  the  meeting  a  William  Smith,  who  occupied 
"a  rank  in  life  no  higher  than  that  of  a  doorkeeper  of  a  dissenting 
chapel"  in  Bristol.  Five  days  later  he  unburdened  his  mind  to 
Stephen  Prust,  a  merchant  of  the  city,  relative  to  the  instruction 
of  the  adult  poor  in  reading  the  Bible.  Prust  promised  donations 
of  the  Scriptures  for  the  use  of  the  schools.  The  next  day  the 
canvass  was  begun,  which  resulted  in  the  obtaining  of  two  rooms 
in  which  to  hold  the  school,  the  engaging  of  two  persons  as  in- 
structors, and  the  organizing  of  one  school  for  men  and  the  other 
for  women.  The  first  man  enrolled  was  sixty-three  years  of  age. 
The  first  woman  enrolled  was  forty  years  old.  It  was  only  nine- 
teen days  after  the  promised  help  that  Smith  opened  the  first 
school  with  eleven  men  and  ten  women.  Within  a  few  weeks 
there  was  formed  a  society  named  "An  Institution  for  Instruct- 
ing Adult  Persons  to  Read  the  Holy  Scriptures."  They  resolved 
upon  twelve  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the  society  and  of  the 
schools.  A  Methodist  minister  to  whom  Smith  applied  "rendered 
important  services  in  forming  this  new  society,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  Preliminary  Address,  published  with  the  Rules."  61 
In  April,  1813,  there  were  nine  schools  for  men  and  the  same 
number  for  women,  and  during  the  thirteen  months  there  had 
been  three  hundred  men  and  three  hundred  and  one  women  under 
instruction.  In  18 14  the  schools  had  increased  to  twenty-one  for 
men  and  twenty-three  for  women  with  "two  others  out  of  the 
city,"  the  enrollment  from  the  beginning  of  the  movement  total- 
ing 1,508,  with  1,297  in  attendance  in  1814.  From  this  the  move- 
ment spread  very  rapidly  to  other  parts.    ? 

The  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  some  to  display  their  ignorance 


'Ibid.,  p.  17. 

39 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

before  others  resulted  in  the  forming  of  private  schools  in  the 
homes,  where  a  few  neighbors  were  gathered  together.  The 
Bristol  School  of  Refuge  for  unfortunate  women,  while  not  a 
branch  of  the  Adult  Schools,  "may  be  considered  the  offspring 
of  the  Adult  School  Societies."  62 

This  excellent  institution,  the  adult  school,  was  not  William 
Smith's  first  Sunday  school  effort.  He  "founded  the  first  of 
those  schools  called  'The  Methodist  Sunday  Schools'  in  the  city 
of  Bristol  and  its  neighborhood  in  the  year  1804,"  63  which,  in 
1814,  "afforded  education  to  2,248  children,  of  both  sexes."  64 

June  4,  181 5,  Messrs.  Harvard  and  Clough,  Wesleyan  mis- 
sionaries to  the  island  of  Ceylon,  established  Sunday  schools  in 
that  quarter  of  the  British  empire.  For  some  time  this  was 
claimed  to  be  the  planting  of  the  first  Sunday  school  in  Asia,  and 
may  have  been,  though  the  Baptist  mission  at  Serampore  early 
established  this  new  institution.  But  the  Wesleyan  missionaries 
went  into  all  quarters  of  the  empire,  and  they  carried  with  them 
the  Sunday  school  which  had  been  so  enthusiastically  appro- 
priated in  the  Wesleyan  societies  of  England  and  Wales. 

These  missionaries  of  Ceylon  tell  their  own  story: 

We  cannot  conceal  that  the  establishment  of  our  Sunday 
school  has  given  us  favor  in  the  eyes  of  many.  It  has  certainly 
considerably  tended  to  help  on  the  subscription  to  our  place  of 
worship.  We  only  consulted  one  friend,  who  stated  unsurmount- 
able  difficulties,  and  assured  us  that  the  time  was  not  yet  come, 
and  that  the  people  were  not  ripe  for  such  an  institution.  How- 
ever, we  were  determined,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  make  the  trial ; 
and  now,  that  we  have  upwards  of  250  children,  and  twenty 
gratuitous  teachers  most  cheerfully  engaged  in  instructing  them 
every  week,  every  one  is  charmed,  and  several  are  surprised,  that 
so  simple  an  idea  did  not  occur  to  their  minds  before.  We  have 
the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  through  the  great  kindness  of  the 


02Pole,  Thomas,  M.D. :  A  History  of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  Adult 
Schools,  p.  51. 

"Ibid.,  p.  17  (footnote). 
"Ibid. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Hon.  Robert  Boyd,  Member  of  Council,  and  Commissioner  of 
Revenue,  we  have  the  use  of  the  theater  for  our  Sunday  school; 
and  a  better  place  could  not  have  been  chosen,  it  being  so  very 
central  and  commodious.  We  have  quite  a  train  of  native  chil- 
dren now  in  our  school.65 


65James,  J.  A.:  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide  (1816),  pp.  32,  33. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  II 

EARLY  BEGINNINGS   IN   AMERICA  AND   THE   EVI- 
DENT INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  WESLEYAXISM, 
1 784- 1 82  7 

§  1.   Methodism  in  America  and  Early  Religious 
Instruction 

American  Methodism  might  be  said  to  have  begun  with 
the  landing  of  John  Wesley  in  Georgia  February  5,  1736,  as  a 
missionary  to  the  New  World  and  especially  to  the  Indians.  His 
stay  was  of  short  duration,  and  his  Journal  of  January  22,  1738, 
contains  these  words :  "I  took  my  leave  of  America  (though,  if  it 
please  God,  not  forever)." 

When  George  Whitefield,  the  famous  preacher,  reached 
Georgia  a  little  later  he  wrote  in  his  journal : 

The  good  that  Mr.  John  Wesley  has  done  in  America  is 
inexpressible.  His  name  is  very  precious  among  the  people;  and 
he  has  laid  a  foundation  that  I  hope  neither  men  nor  devils  will 
ever  be  able  to  shake.  O  that  I  may  follow  him  as  he  has  fol- 
lowed Christ !  1 


'Buckley,  James  M. :  History  of  Methodism,  p.  72.  (American  Church 
History  Series.) 

The  following  incident  is  quoted  from  the  London  Sunday  School 
Teachers'  Magazine  of  1845: 

"The  narrative  informs  us  that  when  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  missionary  in 
Georgia  in  the  years  1736  and  1737 — forty  years  before  Raikes's  first  Sabbath 
school— 'he  set  apart  a  portion  of  the  Sabbath  afternoon  to  meet  the  chil- 
dren belonging  to  his  mission  for  catechetical  instruction.1  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  he  was  successful  in  thi->  wink,  for  his  m, tuner  of  u-aching 
young  people  was  simple  and  impressive  Perhaps  cm-  instance  of  this  may 
not  Ik-  out  of  place,  as  an  example  to  the  junior  teachers  of  our  schools,  lie 
was  staying  at  the  house  of  a  gentleman  some  distance  from  his  home,  when, 
seizing  every  opportunity  of  usefulness,  he  entered  into  conversation  with  the 

42 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

It  is  not  strange  that  Methodism's  early  successes  were  in 
the  Southland  and  largely  as  a  missionary  effort  to  the  oppressed 
races.  But  the  church  as  an  ecclesiastical  organization  came  to 
its  birth  in  New  York.  Philip  Embury,  a  local  preacher  from 
Ireland,  preached  in  New  York,  where  he  had  settled,  and  there 
organized  the  first  American  society  in  the  year  1766.  After 
erecting  a  stone  chapel  in  John  Street  the  society  wrote  to  Mr. 
Wesley  for  a  preacher.  In  answer  to  the  request  Messrs.  Board- 
man  and  Pilmoor  came,  the  first  regular  preachers  sent  to  this 
country  by  Wesley.  Francis  Asbury  arrived  in  1771.  The  Rev. 
Freeborn  Garrettson,  that  hero  of  the  early  years,  in  a  noted 
address,  in  1826,  said  of  these  beginnings: 


negro  servant.  'I  asked'  (he  writes)  whether  she  went  to  church?  She  said, 
"Yes,  every  Sunday,  to  carry  my  mistress's  children."  I  asked  what  she  had 
learned  at  church?  She  said,  "Nothing;  I  heard  a  deal,  but  did  not  under- 
stand it."  But  what  did  your  master  teach  you  at  home?  "Nothing."  Nor 
your  mistress  ?  "No."  I  asked,  But  don't  you  know  that  your  hands  and 
feet,  and  this  you  call  your  body,  will  turn  to  dust  in  a  little  while?  She 
answered,  "Yes."  But  there  is  something  in  you  that  will  not  turn  to  dust, 
and  this  is  what  they  call  your  soul.  Indeed,  you  cannot  see  your  soul, 
though  it  is  within  you ;  as  you  cannot  see  the  wind,  though  it  is  all  about 
you.  But  if  you  had  not  a  soul  in  you,  you  could  no  more  see,  or  hear,  or 
feel  than  this  table  can.  What  do  you  think  will  become  of  your  soul  when 
your  body  turns  to  dust?  "I  don't  know."  Why,  it  will  go  out  of  your 
body,  and  go  up  there  above  the  sky,  and  live  always.  God  lives  there.  Do 
you  know  who  God  is?  "No."  You  cannot  see  him  any  more  than  you 
can  see  your  own  soul ;  it  is  he  that  made  you  and  me  and  all  men  and 
women,  and  all  beasts  and  birds,  and  all  the  world.  It  is  he  that  makes  the 
sun  to  shine,  and  rain  fall,  and  corn  and  fruits  to  grow  out  of  the  ground. 
He  made  all  these  for  us ;  but  why,  do  you  think,  he  made  us  ?  "I  cannot 
tell."  He  made  you  to  live  with  himself  above  the  sky;  and  so  you  will,  in 
a  little  time,  if  you  are  good  and  love  him.  If  you  are  good,  when  your  body 
dies  your  soul  will  go  up,  and  want  nothing,  and  have  whatever  you  desire. 
No  one  will  beat  or  hurt  you  there.  You  will  never  be  sick ;  you  will  never 
be  sorry  any  more,  or  afraid  of  any  thing.  I  cannot  tell  you,  for  I  do  not 
know,  how  happy  you  will  be,  for  you  will  be  with  God.' 

"  'The  attention  with  which  this  poor  creature  listened  to  instruction  is 
inexpressible.  The  next  day  she  remembered  all,  readily  answered  every 
question,  and  said  she  would  ask  Him  that  made  her  to  show  her  how  to  be 
good.' " 

(From  John  Wesley  and  Sunday  Schools,  by  R.  G.  Pardee,  A.M.,  in  Sunday 
School  Journal,  October,  1868.  Vol.  I,  p.  1.) 

43 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

In  the  year  1784  the  joyful  news  of  peace  saluted  our  ears. 
.  .  .  Mr.  Wesley  had  an  eye  for  good  on  his  American  chil- 
dren, and  availed  himself  of  the  earliest  opportunity  to  send  us 
Dr.  Coke,  Richard  Whatcoat,  and  Thomas  Vasey,  clothed  with 
ecclesiastical  powers,  to  constitute  the  American  Methodists  an 
independent  episcopal  church.  We  sent  out  our  heralds,  and 
summoned  the  preachers  from  every  direction  to  meet  in  Balti- 
more; and  this  we  called  our  Christmas  Conference,  at  which 
time  the  organization  of  our  church  took  place.  Many  of  our 
oldest  preachers  were  ordained  and  Mr.  Asbury  was  set  apart  as 
a  joint  superintendent  with  Dr.  Coke;  and  their  names  so  ap- 
peared on  the  minutes  of  Conference,  according  to  the  order  and 
appointment  of  Mr.  Wesley.2 

There  were  at  that  time  (1784)  14,988  church  members  and  83 
preachers.3  The  minutes  of  1785  show  18,000  members  and  104 
preachers.4  The  Discipline  adopted  in  1784  contained  the  ques- 
tion and  answers  :5 

What  shall  we  do  for  the  Rising  Generation?  Who  will 
labor  for  them?  Let  him  who  is  zealous  for  God  and  the  Souls 
of  Men  begin  now. 

1.  WThere  there  are  ten  Children  whose  Parents  are  in  So- 
ciety, meet  them  an  Hour  every  Week ; 

2.  Talk  with  them  every  time  you  see  any  at  home. 

3.  Pray  in  Earnest  for  them. 

4.  Diligently  instruct  and  vehemently  exhort  all  Parents  at 
their  own  Houses. 

5.  Preach  expressly  on  Education;  "But  I  have  no  Gift  for 
this."  Gift  or  no  Gift,  you  are  to  do  it;  else  you  are  not  called 
to  be  a  Methodist  Preacher.  Do  it  as  you  can,  till  you  can  do  it 
as  you  would.  Pray  earnestly  for  the  Gift,  and  use  the  Means 
for  it. 


'Methodist  Magazine   (London),  1827,  pp.  6/2ff.,  74off.,  8ioff. 

"The  Semi-Centennial  Sermon  before  the  New  York  Annual  Confer- 
ence," May,  1826,  by  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson. 

'Minutes  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  1773-1828,  p.  20  (Mason  and  Lane, 
1840). 

4Ibid,  p.  24. 

'Discipline  of  1785  under  Question  51. 

Strickland,  W.  P. :  Francis  Asbury,  p.  220. 

Lee,  Jesse:  A  Short  History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  104. 
44 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  1787  this  section  of  the  Discipline  was  expanded  to  read: 

Question.  What  shall  we  do  for  the  rising  generation?  Let 
him  who  is  zealous  for  God  and  the  Souls  of  Men  begin  now. 

Answer.  1.  Where  there  are  ten  children  whose  parents  are  in 
Society,  meet  them  an  Hour  once  a  Week ;  but  where  this  is 
impracticable  meet  them  once  in  two  weeks. 

2.  Procure  our  Instructions  for  them,  and  let  all  who 
can,  read  and  commit  them  to  Memory. 

3.  Explain  and  impress  them  upon  their  Hearts. 

4.  Talk  with  them  every  Time  you  see  any  at  Home. 

5.  Pray  in  Earnest  for  them.  Diligently  instruct  and 
exhort  all  Parents  at  their  own  Houses. 

6.  Let  the  Elders,  Deacons,  and  Preachers  take  a  List 
of  the  Names  of  the  Children;  and  if  any  of  them  be  truly 
awakened,  let  them  be  admitted  into  Society. 

7.  Preach  expressly  on  Education;  "But  I  have  no  Gift 
for  this."  Gift  or  no  Gift,  you  are  to  do  it;  else  you  are 
not  called  to  be  a  Methodist  Preacher.  Do  it  as  you  can,  till 
you  can  do  it  as  you  would.  Pray  earnestly  for  the  Gift, 
and  use  thfc  Means  for  it.6 

The  last  three  sentences  were  dropped  out  in  1788  and  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  was  inserted:  "Pray  earnestly  for  the  gift,  and 
use  means  to  attain  it."  7 

The  Discipline  of  the  first  Conference,  under  the  duties  of 
an  "Assistant,"  makes  him  responsible  for  seeing  that  every 
society  has  the  book  entitled  Instructions  for  Children.8 

The  Minutes  of  1787  include  in  their  instructions  to  the 
preachers,  as  passed  by  the  Conference,  that  they  should  form 
children's  classes.    Question  20  and  its  answer  read : 

What  can  we  do  for  the  rising  generation? 

"Discipline  of  1787,  Sec.  xxvi,  p.  38. 

'Minutes  of  1784,  published  1788,  Sec.  xxvi,  pp.  34,  35. 

Bangs,  Nathan:  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  i, 
p.  204. 

"Discipline  1785,  Question  60.  The  Assistant  was  a  preacher  in  a  Cir- 
cuit who  assisted  "the  Superintendents  in  the  charge  of  the  Societies  and  the 
other  preachers  therein"  (Question  58).  In  1787  this  duty  relative  to  every 
society's  possessing  the  book  mentioned  was  assigned  to  the  "deacon." 
(Sec.  vi.) 

45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Let  the  elders,  deacons,  and  helpers  class  the  children  of  our 
friends  in  proper  classes,  as  far  as  it  is  practicable ;  meet  them  as 
often  as  possible,  and  commit  them,  during  their  absence,  into  the 
care  of  proper  persons,  who  may  meet  them  at  least  weekly;  and 
if  any  of  them  be  truly  awakened,  let  them  be  admitted  into  so- 
ciety.9 

§  2.   The  Early  Sunday  School  Movement 

The  carrying  out  of  these  instructions  to  preachers  natu- 
rally meant  in  many  societies  the  organizing  of  Sunday  schools. 

The  first  Sunday  school  to  be  founded  in  America,  certainly 
the  first  one  that  can  claim  continuous  existence,  was  begun  by  a 
layman,  William  Elliott,  who  emigrated  from  England  to  Vir- 
ginia in  1724,  and  there  became  a  Methodist  convert  about  1772. 
In  1785  he  organized  a  Sunday  school  in  his  home,  where  each 
Sabbath  afternoon  he  instructed  the  white  boys  "bound  out"  to 
him  and  the  girls  in  his  charge,  together  with  his  own  children. 
Soon  the  children  of  neighbors  and  friends  were  admitted.  The 
Negro  slaves  and  servants  were  similarly  taught  at  another  hour. 
"All  were  taught  the  rudiments  of  reading,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  able  to  read  God's  Word  for  themselves — the  Bible 
being  practically  the  only  textbook  in  the  school."  The  identical 
Bible  used  by  William  Elliott  is  still  in  existence  and  was  dis- 
played at  the  Sixth  World's  Sunday  School  Convention,  19 10. 
After  sufficient  advancement  had  been  made,  the  catechism  was 
studied,  later  Bible  readings  were  prepared  by  the  members  of 
the  class,  and  explanations  and  comments  were  given  by  the 
teachers.  In  January,  1801,  the  Burton-Oak  Grove  Methodist 
Church  was  built,  and  in  due  time  William  Elliott's  home  Sun- 
day school  was  transferred  to  this  church.  Mr.  Elliott  came 
with  it  and  became  its  first  superintendent.  Since  its  founding  in 
1785  the  school  has  had  unbroken  existence,  with  only  nine  men 
as  superintendents  and  all  of  these  "men  of  prominence  in  church 


"Minutes   taken   at   the    Several   Annual   Conferences.      (For    the    year 
1787.) 

Bangs,   Nathan:   History  of   the    Methodist   Episcopal   Church,    VOL    i. 
p.  262. 

46 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

and  secular  work."  January  13,  1901,  this  church,  the  Burton- 
Oak  Grove  Church,  Bradford's  Neck,  Accomac  County,  Vir- 
ginia, celebrated  its  centennial  anniversary.  This  year  (1916) 
records  132  years  of  aggressive  Sunday  school  effort  for  one 
community.10     The  next  year,   1786,  a  second  historic  Sunday 


In  the  year  1786  a  Sabbath  school  was  taught  in  the  house 
of  our  aged  brother,  Thos.  Crenshaw,  now  living  in  Hanover 
County,  Va.,  and  in  the  following  year,  forty-one  years  ago,  the 
Rev.  John  Charleston  was  converted  to  God  in  that  school,  and 
he  also  still  lives,  having  labored  with  zeal  and  success  for  thirty- 
nine  years  past  as  a  minister  in  our  church.  About  the  same  time 
there  were  many  more  in  successful  operation,  as  may  be  seen  by 
a  reference  to  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal,  vol.  ii,  p.  65,  and  Lee's 
History  of  Methodism,  pp.  162,  163.  And  from  these  facts,  we 
apprehend,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  these  schools  were  estab- 
lished several  years  before  any  other  denomination  participated 
in  our  labors  or  shared  our  reproach.  For  about  this  time  there 
were  persecutions  instituted  against  the  brethren  engaged  in  these 
schools  which  might  damp  the  ardor  of  most  of  our  modern 
teachers.  By  a  letter  lately  received  from  the  Rev.  Stith  Mead, 
an  old  veteran  of  the  cross,  now  laboring  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Virginia  Conference,  we  learn  that  not  long  after,  the  Rev. 
George  Daughaday,  stationed  preacher  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  was 
severely  beaten  on  the  head  with  a  club,  and  subsequently  had 
water  pumped  on  him  from  a  public  cistern,  for  the  crime  of  con- 
ducting a  Sabbath  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  African  children 
of  that  vicinity.  Thus  he  and  others  "both  labored  and  suffered 
reproach,"  and  we  live  to  reap  the  fruit  of  their  doings.11 

The  latter  story  refers,  it  would  seem,  to  the  well-known  Rev. 
George  Dougharty,  concerning  whom  the  following  detailed  ac- 

10The  original  manuscripts  and  Elliott's  Bible  are  in  the  possession  of 
Mrs.  Wessie  E.  Nock  Eason,  a  great-great-granddaughter.  See  Historical 
Bulletin,  No.  1.  First  American  Sunday  School,  by  C.  W.  Baines,  General 
Secretary,  Virginia  State  Sunday  School  Association.  See  also  The  Class- 
mate, Dec.  8,  1917,  p.  386. 

"Extract  of  First  Annual  Report;  Methodist  Magazine  (American), 
1828,  pp.  349-353.  (Copied  in  Annual  Report  of  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Union  for  1846,  pp.  97-100.)  For  First  Annual  Report  see  Christian  Advo- 
cate and  Journal,  No.  97,  p.  178. 

47 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

count  is  given  in  the  Wesleyan  Repository  by  one  intimately 
acquainted  with  him : 

I  well  remember  the  morning,  23  years  ago,  and  the  conver- 
sation, when  Mr.  Asbury  was  about  to  leave  Charleston,  and  Mr. 
Dougherty  in  charge  of  the  society.  In  allusion  to  the  large 
number  of  colored  members :  I  leave  you,  said  he,  a  flower  garden 
and  a  kitchen  garden,  to  cultivate ;  and,  following  out  the  similie, 
he  pointed  to  him  the  importance  of  attention  to  the  blacks.  The 
greater  pleasure  would  be  derived  from  an  attention  to  the 
masters;  the  greater  advantage  from  attention  to  the  slaves.  Mr. 
Dougherty  was  not  satisfied  with  laboring  for  the  adult  slaves 
only;  he  established  a  school  for  the  black  children.  In  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Asbury,  he  observes,  I  do  not  only  suffer  the  reproach  com- 
mon to  Methodist  Preachers,  but  I  have  rendered  myself  still 
more  vile,  as  "the  negro  schoolmaster."  His  success  was  too 
great  to  be  endured  by  the  jealous  authorities;  the  alarm  was 
spread  among  the  populace ;  but,  as  the  schoolmaster  would  take 
no  hint  to  abandon  his  sable  pupils,  the  mob  assembled,  in  great 
numbers,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  in  Cumberland  street,  before  the 
church.  The  Preacher  was  forcibly  hurried  from  the  pulpit  into 
the  midst  of  the  mob,  who  seem  not  to  have  made  their  arrange- 
ment how  to  dispose  of  their  victim.  A  pause  ensued,  and  while 
several  proposals  were  making,  a  voice  was  heard  above  the  rest, 
"to  the  pump" — to  the  pump  was  now  the  general  cry.  The 
pump  stood  in  Church  street,  near  the  corner  of  Cumberland 
street,  not  many  yards  distant  from  the  church.  Air.  Dougherty 
was  hurried  on  towards  it,  by  the  multitude,  and  thrown  down  so 
as  to  receive  its  whole  contents,  until  the  phrenzy  of  the  mob 
began  to  abate;  he  was  then  suffered  to  return  to  his  lodgings, 
without  any  serious  injury — and,  I  believe,  unruffled  with  any 
unholy  emotion  of  heart.  He  used  to  relate  the  event  with  the 
utmost  composure,  and  occasional  pleasantry. l'2 

The  Rev.  Bishop  James  O.  Andrew,  in  a  series  of  articles 
dated  from  Charleston  called-  "Letters  of  Methodist  History," 
gives  an  account  of  a  mob's  seizing  the  "Rev.  George 
Daugherty,"  of  Charleston,  fellow  pastor  with  the  Rev.  John 
Harper,  and  "pumping"  him  until  they  were  stopped  by  a  \vo- 


T.iographical  Recollections  of  the  Rev.  George  Dougherty.    The  Wes- 
leyan Repository  for  September,  iK-\3,  vol.  iii,  pp.  iOj,  1O3. 

48 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

man's  stuffing  her  shawl  into  the  spout  of  the  pump,  thereby 
breaking  the  mob  spirit.  The  specific  offense  was  the  mere  recep- 
tion by  Mr.  Harper  of  resolutions  relative  to  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  though  nothing  was  done  regarding  the  resolutions.  The 
mob  being  unable  to  obtain  him,  they  took  Mr.  Daugherty,  who 
occupied  his  pulpit  that  evening.  That  the  effort  of  the  church 
was  conspicuously  among  the  Negroes  and  that  it  partook  of 
instruction  in  a  large  degree  are  evidenced  by  the  facts  stated  in 
the  above-quoted  articles.  Detailed  accounts  are  also  given  of 
persecutions  inflicted  apparently  because  of  their  preaching  to 
Negroes.  These  occurrences  would  seem  to  have  taken  place 
during  the  years  1801-1802.13 

The  church  in  1830  had  in  its  membership  five  hundred 
whites  and  three  thousand  colored  people,  and  the  author  of 
"Letters  of  Methodist  History"  states,  "We  have  at  present  in 
Charleston  ...  a  Sunday  School  Association  and  three 
Sabbath  Schools."  14 

These  recorded  incidents  have  entered  prominently  into  sub- 
sequent written  accounts  of  the  history  of  the  Sunday  school 
movement  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.15 

A  paper  entitled  "Youths'  Instructor  and  Guardian"  was 
begun  in  1823  and  covered  what  the  name  would  indicate. 


13Andrew,  James  O. :  Letters  of  Methodist  History.  Methodist  Maga- 
zine (American),  1830,  pp.  16-28.  Stevens,  Abel:  History  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Vol.  iii,  pp.  386-390.  Compare  also  Deems,  Chas.  F. : 
Annals  of  Southern  Methodism,  pp.  249,  250. 

George  Dougharty  and  John  Harper  were  pastors  in  Charleston  in  1801. 
(Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences  from  1773  to  1813.  Pub.  by  Daniel 
Hitt  and  Thomas  Ware,  1813,  p.  260.)  He  was  ordained  elder  1802  (Ibid., 
pp.  269,  275)  ;  died,  1807.  For  obituary  see  Ibid.,  pp.  413-415.  Though  the 
name  is  spelled  in  various  ways,  the  above  quoted  articles  seem  to  refer  to 
the  well-known  George  Dougharty. 

"Andrew,  James  O. :  Letters  of  Methodist  History.  Methodist  Maga- 
zine (American),  1830,  p.  28. 

15See  Lee,  Jesse:  A  Short  History  of  the  Methodists  (1810),  pp.  162- 
165. 

See  Annual  Report  for  1846,  pp.  97-100. 

See  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  1857,  p.  518. 

See  Dorchester,  Daniel:  Christianity  in  the  United  States,  p.  426. 
49 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

§  3.  Official  Recognition  of  Sunday  Schools  and 
their  Organization 

The  very  close  connection  between  Methodism  in  America 
and  in  England  during  the  years  of  the  Sunday  school's  rapid 
spread  under  Wesley's  encouragement  would  naturally  have 
meant  the  passing  on  of  the  temper,  spirit,  and  plans  to  the 
American  societies.  It  is  of  value  in  rightly  estimating  reli- 
gious instruction  in  the  Methodist  Church  to  note  that  from 
the  very  beginning,  both  in  England  and  America,  it  has  been 
closely  related  to  a  worthy  educational  program,  and  has,  in- 
deed, been  an  integral  part  of  that  program.  Bishop  Asbury 
received  constant  direction  from  Wesley  and  Bishop  Thomas 
Coke  was  very  intimately  related  to  him.  Wesley's  educational 
ideals  became  those  of  these  early  founders  of  American  Meth- 
odism, as  the  following  extracts  from  their  Journals  will  show : 

Journal  of  Thomas  Coke.16 

P.  244,  November  14,  1784.  "He  [Asbury]  and  I  have 
agreed  to  use  our  joint  endeavors  to  establish  a  school  or  college 
on  the  plan  of  Kingwood-school." 

P.  290,  December  14.  "I  have  prevailed  upon  him  [Mr.  D.] 
to  give,  in  land,  £250  currency  toward  the  college  (for  that  is 
to  be  its  name).  Mr.  Asbury  met  me  this  side  of  the  Bay.  Be- 
tween us  we  have  got  about  £1,000  sterling  subscribed  toward 
the  college." 

P.  292,  January  5,  1785.  "I  now  gave  orders  that  the  mate- 
rials should  be  got  for  building  the  college." 

P.  397,  May  30.    "We  rode  to  Abingdon,  whence  we  agreed 
to  give  Mr.  Dallam  £60  sterling  for  four  acres  of  ground,  which 
we  had  fixed  upon  as  the  site  of  our  college,17  and  had  proper 
bonds  drawn  up. 
Journal  of  Francis  Asbury. 

November  2^,  24,  1789.  "I  received  some  relief  for  my 
poor  orphans." 

'"Arminian  Magazine  (American),  vol.  i,  1789,  p.  237. 

This  was  "mostly  a  reprint  of  Wesley's  periodical  of  that  name." 
Stevens,  Abel:  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (1864),  vol.  ii. 
p.  499.    The  American  Methodist  Magazine  was  begun  in  1818. 

"Cokesbury  College  at  Abingdon,  Maryland.  The  plan  was  published 
immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Christmas  Conference,  1784. 

50 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

November  30.  "A  number  of  dear  old  brethren  accom- 
panied me  to  Cokesbury,  where  we  had  an  examination  of  the 
boys,  and  stationed  eleven  on  charity." 

December  4.  "The  concerns  of  the  college18  were  well  at- 
tended to,  as  also  the  printing  business." 

December  19.  "Here  also  the  Lord  hath  wrought  power- 
fully amongst  the  children." 

February  17,  1790  (Charleston  Conference).  "Our  Confer- 
ence resolved  on  establishing  Sunday  schools  for  poor  children, 
white  and  black."  19 

Pennsylvania,  August  1.  "I  spoke  on  education  from  Prov. 
22  :  6.  I  was  led  to  enlarge  on  the  obligations  of  parents  to  their 
children;  and  the  nature  of  that  religious  education  which  would 
be  most  likely  to  fit  them  for  this,  and  which  alone  could  qualify 
them  for  the  next  world." 

Virginia,  November  3.  "I  preached  on  education,"  from 
'Come,  ye  children,  hearken  to  me;  I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of 
the  Lord.'     The  word  was  felt  by  the  parents." 

Maryland,  November  4.  "Next  day  we  had  a  full  house, 
and  I  preached  on  education — my  text,  'Train  up  a  child  in  the 
way  he  should  go;  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from 
it.'  " 

Cokesbury,  November  21.  "We  examined  the  students  rela- 
tive to  learning  and  religion — paid  debts,  and  put  matters  in 
better  order.  We  have  forty-five  boys.  The  charitable  subscrip- 
tions to  the  establishment  amount  to  $300  per  annum." 

"For  detailed  description  of  Cokesbury  College,  see  Arminian  Maga- 
zine (American),  vol.  i,  December,  1789,  pp.  589,  590. 

"There  are  ten  boys  who  are  wholly  or  partially  on  charity,  several  of 
whom  are  maintained,  clothed,  and  educated  gratis.  There  are  also  twenty 
independent  scholars"  (p.  59°). 

See  also  Discipline,  dated  1789,  pp.  34-43- 
Objects: 

"The  first  is  a  provision  for  the  sons  of  our  married  ministers  and 
preachers." 

"The  second  object  we  have  in  view  is  the  education  and  support  of 
poor  orphans." 

"The  last  is  the  establishment  of  a  seminary  for  the  children  of  our 
competent  friends,  where  learning  and  religion  may  go  hand  in  hand."  Dis- 
cipline, 1789. 

College  opened  December  8-10,  1787.  See  Bangs,  Nathan:  History  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  i,  pp.  229-242. 

"This  is  the  entry  to  which  reference  is  often  made  as  "Vol.  ii,  p.  65." 
51 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

December  9.  "The  council  rose  after  advising  a  loan  of 
$1,000,  payable  in  two  years,  for  Cokesbury;  and  giving  direc- 
tions for  proper  books  to  be  printed." 

South  Carolina,  March  26,  1791.  "We  had  white  and  red 
Indians  at  Catawba;  the  Doctor  [Coke]  and  myself  both 
preached.  I  had  some  conversation  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Indians 
about  keeping  up  the  school  we  have  been  endeavoring  to  estab- 
lish amongst  them."  20 

The  first  official  recognition  of  Sunday  schools  by  an  Amer- 
ican church  is  believed  to  have  been  by  the  Methodist  Conference 


What  can  be  done  in  order  to  instruct  poor  children  (whites 
and  blacks)  to  read?  Let  us  labor,  as  the  heart  and  soul  of  one 
man,  to  establish  Sunday  schools,  in  or  near  the  place  of  public 
worship.  Let  persons  be  appointed  by  the  bishops,  elders, 
deacons,  or  preachers  to  teach  (gratis)  all  that  will  attend,  and 
have  a  capacity  to  learn ;  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  ten ; 
and  from  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  till  six,  where  it  does  not 
interfere  with  public  worship. 

The  council  shall  compile  a  proper  school  book,  to  teach 
them  learning  and  piety.22 


20Asbury's  Journal,  vol.  ii,  published  by  Bangs  &  Mason.  The  above 
entries  in  his  Journal  are  taken  from  less  than  eighteen  months  of  his  long 
years  of  service. 

"The  statistics  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  as  follows : 

Whites            Colored             Total  Preachers 

1789    35.019               8,243               43.262  196 

1788  30,809               6,545               37,354  166 

Increase   4,210  1,698  5,908  30 

1790  45.949  u.682  57,631 

(Bangs,  Nathan:  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  i, 
pp.  308  and  320.) 

"Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  Annually  hold  in  America, 
from  1773  to  1794,  inclusive,  published  1795.     See  p.  147. 

Lee,  Jesse:  A  Short  History  of  the  Methodists  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  pp.  162,  163. 

Bangs,  Nathan :  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  i, 
pp.  309ff. 

Strickland,  W.  P.:  Francis  Asbury,  pp.  220,  221. 

52 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

On  the  Disciplinary  legislation  "Of  the  Instruction  of  Chil- 
dren" Coke  and  Asbury  commented  in  1796: 

Alas !  the  great  difficulty  lies  in  finding  men  and  women  of 
genuine  piety  as  instructors.  Let  us,  however,  endeavor  to  supply 
these  spiritual  defects.  ...  In  towns  we  may,  without  diffi- 
culty, meet  the  children  weekly,  and  in  the  plantations  advise  and 
pray  with  them  every  time  we  visit  their  houses :  Nay,  in  the 
country,  if  we  give  notice  that  at  such  a  time  we  shall  spend  an 
hour  or  two  at  such  a  house  with  those  children  who  shall  attend, 
many  of  the  neighbors  will  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  send  their  chil- 
dren to  us  at  the  time  appointed.  But  we  must  exercise  much 
patience,  as  well  as  zeal,  for  the  successful  accomplishment  of  this 
work.  And  if  we  can  with  love  and  delight  condescend  to  their 
ignorance  and  childishness,  and  yet  endeavor  continually  to  raise 
up  their  little  minds  to  the  once  dying  but  now  exalted  Saviour, 
we  shall  be  made  a  blessing  to  thousands  of  them. 

But  let  us  labor  among  the  poor  in  this  respect,  as  well  as 
among  the  competent.  O,  if  our  people  in  the  cities,  towns,  and 
villages  were  but  sufficiently  sensible  of  the  magnitude  of  this 
duty,  and  its  acceptableness  to  God!  If  they  would  establish 
Sabbath  schools,  wherever  practicable,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
children  of  the  poor!    .    .     . 

N.  B.  We  particularly  recommend  our  scripture-catechism 
for  the  use  of  children.23 

In  a  letter  dated  September  16,  1791,  addressed  "To  the 
Brethren  in  the  united  societies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,"  Asbury  urged  the  establishing  of  schools 
for  boys  and  girls  in  order  to  bring  Christian  education  to  all, 
including  those  "in  the  small  towns  and  villages."  An  item  of 
special  interest  is  found  in  his  appeal :  "These  schools  may  be 
open  on  Sabbath  days,  two  hours  in  the  morning,  and  two  hours 
in  the  evening,  for  those  that  have  no  other  time."  24  In  1792 
Asbury  was  zealously  engaged  in  organizing  what  he  called 


"Discipline  dated  1798,  pp.  104,  105,  from  Notes  by  Coke  and  Asbury 
on  the  Section  "Of  the  Instruction  of  Children." 

Strickland,  W.  P.:  Francis  Asbury,  pp.  220-222. 

"Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences  Annually  held  in  America, 
from  1773  to  1794,  inclusive,  pp.  162-164. 

53 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

district  schools,  one  in  each  presiding  elder's  district.  In  this 
he  was  vastly  ahead  of  his  age,  but  had  some  success.25 

Speaking  of  the  early  Sunday  school  efforts,  Lee  says : 

After  this,  Sunday  schools  were  established  in  several  places, 
and  the  teachers  took  nothing  for  their  services.  The  greater 
part  of  the  scholars  were  black  children,  whose  parents  were 
backward  about  sending  them;  and  but  few  of  them  were  regular 
in  attending,  and  in  a  short  time  the  masters  were  discouraged, 
and  having  no  pay,  and  but  little  prospect  of  doing  good,  they 
soon  gave  it  up,  and  it  has  not  been  attended  to  for  many  years.28 

Facts  ascertained  from  other  sources  would  lead  to  a  modifica- 
tion of  this  last  sweeping  statement. 

The  legislation  of  1787  was  changed  by  the  addition  of  "or 
catechism"  in  the  Discipline  of  1800,  giving  as  answer  number  3 
(compare  tenth  edition  dated  1798  with  eleventh  edition  dated 
1801),  "Procure  our  instructions  or  catechism  for  them  and 
let  all  who  can,  read  and  commit  them  to  memory." 

The  General  Conference  at  Baltimore,  May  1,  1824,  reem- 
phasized  the  responsibility  of  the  pastors  for  religious  instruction. 
The  Discipline  of  that  year,  in  the  section  (XV)  entitled  "Of  the 
Instruction  of  Children,"  gives  as  an  addition  to  the  chapter  as 
found  in  the  previous  Discipline  the  following : 

As  far  as  practicable,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  preacher 
of  a  circuit  or  station,  to  obtain  the  names  of  the  children  belong- 
ing to  his  congregations ;  to  form  them  into  classes  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  them  religious  instruction;  to  instruct  them  regu- 
larly himself,  as  much  as  his  other  duties  will  allow;  to  appoint  a 
suitable  leader  for  each  class  who  shall  instruct  them  in  his  ab- 
sence, and  to  leave  his  successor  a  correct  account  of  each  class 
thus  formed  with  the  name  of  its  leader.27 


"Strickland,  W.  P.:  Francis  Asbury,  pp.  224-229;  Lee,  Jesse:  A  Short 
History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  197. 

2uLee,  Jesse:  History  of  the  Methodists  (1809),  p.  163;  see  Strickland, 
W.  P.:  The  Pioneer  Bishop,  Francis  Asbury  (1858),  p.  221;  also  Bennett, 
W.  W. :  Memorials  of  Methodism  in  Virginia,  p.  298. 

"Discipline  of  1824. 

Bennett,  W.  W. :  Memorials  of  Methodism  in  Virginia,  p.  708. 

54 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

1828  the  Discipline  inserted  after  the  word  "station"  above, 
the  phrase,  "to  form  Sunday  schools." 

§  4.  The  Book  Concern  and  Sunday  Schools. 

The  history  of  the  Sunday  school  movement  in  America  can- 
not be  told  without  early  reference  to  the  Book  Concern,  the 
Methodist  publishing  house  and  depository  for  religious  books 
and  tracts.  Freeborn  Garrettson  tells  of  the  founder  of  this 
institution  as  a  preacher  who  "labored  long  in  the  gospel  field," 
"a  wise  and  a  good  man,  a  great  and  a  useful  preacher,"  the 
Rev.  John  Dickins.  He  began  preaching  in  1777,  made  the  first 
entry  in  regard  to  the  Book  Concern  printing  in  1789,  and  died 
in  1798.    Garrettson  says: 

He  commenced  our  Book  Concern,  by  printing  a  small 
Hymn  Book  principally  with  his  own  private  funds.  The  Book 
Concern  which  he  managed  with  integrity  and  dignity,  before  his 
death,  acquired  a  considerable  degree  of  magnitude.  He  com- 
piled that  most  excellent  Scripture-Catechism,  which  has  been 
used  so  long  and  so  usefully  in  our  church.28 

Due  largely  to  the  labors  of  John  P.  Durbin,  the  Book  Con- 
cern issued  some  volumes  suitable  for  Sunday  school  libraries. 
He  prepared  its  first  volume  and  also  the  first  Question  Book  of 
Methodism.29  The  General  Conference  of  1824  ordered  a  cate- 
chism to  be  compiled  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday  schools,  and 
directed  the  Book  Concern  "to  provide,  to  keep  on  hand  a  good 
assortment  of  books  suitable  for  use  of  Sunday  schools."  30 

§  5.    Examples  of  Sunday  School  Work. 

From  about  181 5  there  was  a  marked  increase  in  the  interest 
shown  in  Sunday  schools  and  in  the  work  done  through  this  insti- 


28"Freeborn  Garrettson,"   Methodist  Magazine    (London),   1827,  p.  812. 
See  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  quoted   in   Methodist   Magazine 
(London),  1829,  pp.  49-51. 

29Stevens,  Abel:  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  iii, 

P-  465. 

^Journal  of  General  Conference,  1824,  p.  295. 

55 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

tution.  The  perseverance,  consecration,  and  success  of  workers 
are  well  illustrated  in  the  following  incident,  told  in  1842,  of  the 
very  early  Philadelphia  school  founded  in  1814: 

One  of  the  exercises  at  the  Christmas  celebration  of  the  Sun- 
day schools  attached  to  the  Union  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  Philadelphia,  was  a  dialogue  between  two  boys,  giving  some 
interesting  historical  notices  of  the  schools.  From  this  it  appears 
that  the  school  No.  1  was  organized  in  1814,  and  was  the  first 
Methodist  Sunday  school  in  that  city.  The  school  commenced 
with  thirty  scholars  and  six  teachers,  and  their  first  place  of  meet- 
ing was  a  room,  which  they  obtained  free  of  rent,  in  an  academy 
next  door  to  the  church.  Their  whole  furniture  at  this  time 
consisted  of  two  benches.  .  .  .  Soon  afterward,  however,  they 
obtained  some  more  benches,  and  a  stove;  and  when  to  these  a 
kind  friend  added  a  table  and  two  chairs,  the  school  was  thought 
to  be  well  furnished. 

The  article  tells  of  their  being  ejected,  furniture  and  all,  many 
times,  until  every  room  had  been  occupied  and  they  were  shut 
out  from  the  whole. 

They  had  no  resource  but  to  teach  in  the  open  air,  in  the 
burying  ground  behind  the  church.  There  they  continued  to 
assemble  for  some  time,  the  classes  being  seated,  some  on  benches, 
and  some,  very  frequently,  on  the  graves.  .  .  .  The  worst  of 
it  was,  that  when  it  rained  the  school  had  to  be  adjourned. 

Eighty  dollars  raised  for  the  school  was  stolen  as  the  one  bring- 
ing it  to  the  teachers'  meeting  passed  through  a  crowd.  How- 
ever, 

in  1825  a  building  was  erected  for  their  accommodation,  in  the 
rear  of  the  church;  in  1827  the  Association  established  a  new 
school,  which  met  at  another  place,  and  they  continued  to  extend 
their  borders  till  they  had  raised  seven  schools,  five  of  which  are 
still  connected  with  the  Union  Church,  the  other  two  being  united 
with  other  charges.  In  these  five  schools  there  are  now  about 
twelve  hundred  children.31 

The  McKendrean   Female   Sabbath   School   Society  began 


"'History  of  a  Sunday  School,  Sunday  School  Advocate,  February  15, 
1842,  p.  77- 

56 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

its  work  in  Baltimore  in  1816.  In  1827  it  gave  a  history  of  the 
school  and  a  description  of  conditions  at  its  eleventh  annual  meet- 
ing, November  3.    The  report  reads : 

The  society  consists  of  six  schools,  fifteen  superintendents, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  teachers,  who  attend  alternately,  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty  scholars.32 

The  following  year  they  reported  five  hundred  and  forty-five 
scholars. 

The  Brooklyn  Sabbath  Union  Sunday  School  was  organized 
in  July,  1817. 

In  the  summer  of  1826  a  commodious  house  was  erected  for 
its  accommodation.33 

§  6.    Relation  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  Schools  to 
Sunday  School  Unions 

The  Methodist  Sunday  Schools  in  Boston  became  auxiliary 
to  the  Massachusetts  Union  Sabbath  School  Society  July  6,  1825. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1825,  at  a  meeting,  previously  notified, 
of  delegates  from  schools  connected  with  the  Episcopalian,  Bap- 
tist, Congregational,  and  Methodist  denominations,  The  Massa- 
chusetts Sabbath  School  Union  was  formed.  .  .  .  This  Union 
was  auxiliary  to  the  American  Sunday  School  Union,  which  was 
formed  the  year  previous. 

The  Methodists,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  contributed 
anything  toward  establishing  the  depository;  and  the  Episcopa- 
lians only  a  small  sum ;  and  both  denominations,  in  a  short  time, 
voluntarily  withdrew  from  the  Union.34 

The  Methodist  Church  had  its  own  depository  and  literature. 
When  the  relation  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  school  in  Boston  to 
the  Massachusetts  Sabbath  School  Society  was  dissolved,  May 


32Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  14,  1827,  No.  67,  p.  58. 

^Ibid.,  October  10,  1828,  No.  no,  p.  22. 

34A  Brief  History  of  the  Massachusetts  Sabbath  School  Society  and  of 
the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Sabbath  Schools  in  the  Orthodox  Congregational 
Denominations  in  Massachusetts,  1850. 

57 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

20,  1827,  the  printed  accounts  indicated  that  the  association  had 
been  most  pleasant  and  profitable.35 

After  the  formation  of  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union36  in  1824  many  Methodist  schools  united  with  it,  though 
many  remained  isolated,  hence  the  gathering  of  general  Meth- 
odist statistics  for  this  period  is  impossible.37  In  New  York  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  School  Association,  when  it  with- 
drew from  the  New  York  Sunday  School  Union  Society,  May 
22,  1827,  reported  seven  Methodist  schools  as  having  been  con- 
nected with  the  Union. 

§  7.    Religious  Education  on  the  Frontier  and  Among 
the  Indians 

Methodism  has  always  had  a  genius  for  frontier  and  mis- 
sion work.  A  sentence  from  the  Memoirs  of  a  Sabbath  School 
Scholar  sets  forth  vividly  the  method  of  frontier  organization : 

In  the  autumn  of  1821  there  was  a  Sabbath  school  estab- 
lished in  the  neighborhood  of  her  parents,  by  the  advice  and 
assistance  of  the  late  Mr.  Jas.  Peal,  who  at  that  time  traveled  the 
Yonge  Street  Circuit  (Upper  Canada).38 

As  Methodism  sought  fruitage  among  the  colored  people, 
so  she  coveted  a  harvest  from  the  Indian  races.  One  illustration 
from  this  period  will  suffice,  and  that  from  the  Asbury  Mission 
School : 

About  one  third  of  them  are  reading  in  the  Bible,  a  number 
in  the  Testament,  and  a  few  are  spelling:  several  have  made 


"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  2,  1827,  No.  39,  p.  154- 

'"For  a  description  of  its  plan  see  Peculiarities  of  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union,  Annals  of  Education,  vol.  iii  (1833),  pp.  484ff. 

"For  statistics  of  all  Sunday  schools  see  American  Journal  of  Educa- 
tion, vol.  ii  (1826),  pp.  626ff.,  giving  extracts  of  Second  Annual  Report  of 
American  Sunday  School  Union,  also  Historical  and  Statistical  Data,  1830, 
in  Quarterly  Register  of  American  Educational  Society,  vol.  ii,  pp.  31-35. 
and  footnote,  p.  50. 

3,Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  (1827),  No.  36,  p.  144. 
58 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

considerable  progress  in  arithmetic,  and  a  few  are  studying  the 
English  grammar.39 

In  these  schools  it  is  not  always  easy  at  this  distance  from  their 
excellent  work  to  separate  the  Sunday  efforts  from  those  of  the 
week  days.  The  instruction  seemed  always  to  include  the  Bible 
and  catechism.  This  period  and  the  beginning  of  the  following 
one  was  the  time  par  excellence  for  work  among  Indian  tribes.40 

"There  are  at  this  time,"  says  the  New  York  Observer, 
"twenty-one  missionary  stations  among  the  Indians  in  the  United 
States,  occupied  by  the  American  Methodists:  and  from  all  of 
them  the  last  Annual  Report  is  highly  favorable.  The  missions 
in  the  Cherokee  nation,  under  the  care  of  the  Tennessee  Confer- 
ence, have  been  signally  successful. 

"About  four  years  ago,  the  first  Methodist  missionary  vis- 
ited this  nation,  computed  to  contain  fifteen  thousand  souls. 
.    .    .    Two  of  these  (four  missionaries)  have  taught  a  school. 

"...  Many  children  have  been  taught  to  read  the  Bible, 
and  to  write. 

"...  above  four  hundred  of  these  perishing  sheep  of  the 
wilderness  have  been  gathered  into  the  church."  41 

The  cost  for  the  four  years  had  not  exceeded  $i,6oo.42 

The  last  message  of  Freeborn  Garrettson  to  the  editor  of  the 
Wesleyan  Magazine  in  a  letter  penned  by  his  daughter  was : 

We  have  a  wonderful  ingathering  of  the  Indian  Tribes,  in 
almost  every  instance  in  which  they  have  heard  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  through  a  Redeemer.43 

A  notable  gathering  in  New  York  was  that  of  two  thousand 
or  more  teachers  and  scholars  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  con- 
verted Indian  children  from  Upper  Canada. 

39Asbury  Mission  School  (Indian),  Methodist  Magazine  (London). 
1825,  p.  480. 

40For  "History  of  Methodist  Missions,"  see  article  by  Nathan  Bangs, 
Methodist  Magazine  (American),  1832. 

"Methodist  Missions  Among  the  Cherokees,  Methodist  Magazine  (Lon- 
don), 1827,  p.  338.    Quoted  from  New  York  Observer. 

42Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1827,  p.  338. 

"Ibid.,  1827,  p.  861. 

59 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

These  children  gave  gratifying  evidence  of  their  proficiency 
in  learning,  by  reading  distinctly  and  correctly  several  passages 
in  the  New  Testament,  by  answering  questions  in  the  catechism, 
and  by  lessons  in  spelling.44 


"Methodist    Magazine    (London),    1829,   p.   411.      (Quoted    from   the 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal.) 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  METHODIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  UNION  AND 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ADVANCE,  1827-1840 

§  1.   Organization  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Union 

April  2,  1827,  marks  the  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school  movement.  Before  that 
date  the  lack  of  a  central  denominational  Sunday  school  organ- 
ization makes  exact  and  complete  returns  impossible.  The  trac- 
ing of  legislation  has  been  a  gratifying  historical  investigation; 
the  accounts  of  schools  and  successes  here  and  there  have  given 
glimpses  of  a  great,  unknown,  unmeasurable  activity,  similar  and 
homogeneous  but  unrelated  and  isolated  in  its  local  units.  The 
above  date  was  the  birthday  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Union.  Never  was  a  christening  more  joyously  and  enthusi- 
astically celebrated.  The  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.,  was  elected 
first  corresponding  secretary  April  10,  1827.1  In  the  third 
volume  of  his  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  pub- 
lished 1840,  he  describes  the  significant  event,  the  organization  of 
a  denominational  Sunday  School  Union  :2 

The  constitution  was  adopted  and  the  society  formed  on 
the  second  day  of  April,  1827,  and  it  commenced  its  operations 
under  the  most  favorable  auspices.  The  measure,  indeed,  was 
very  generally  approved,  and  hailed  with  grateful  delight  by  our 
brethren  and  friends  throughout  the  country.  It  received  the 
sanction  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  who  recommended 
to  the  people  of  their  charge  to  form  auxiliary  societies  in  every 

Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  No.  33,  p.  130. 
2Ibid.,  No.  33,  pp.  130,  131. 

Bangs,  Nathan :  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  iii, 
PP.  337-346. 

61 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

circuit  and  station,  and  send  to  the  general  depository  in  New- 
York  for  their  books;  and  such  were  the  zeal  and  unanimity  with 
which  they  entered  into  this  work,  that  at  the  first  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  society  there  were  reported  251  auxiliary  societies, 
1,024  schools,  2,048  superintendents,  10,290  teachers,  and  63,240 
scholars,  besides  about  2,000  managers  and  visitors.3  Never, 
therefore,  did  an  institution  go  into  operation  under  more  favor- 
able circumstances,  or  was  hailed  with  a  more  universal  joy,  than 
the  Sunday-School  Union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Our  establishment,  however,  of  a  distinct  organization,  pro- 
voked no  little  opposition4  from  some  quarters,  and  led  the  man- 
agers into  an  investigation  of  the  origin  of  Sunday  schools,  both 
in  Europe  and  America,  and  the  facts  elicited  were  spread  before 
the  community  in  their  First  Annual  Report.5 

That  the  formation  of  this  society  has  had  a  most  happy 
effect  upon  the  interests  of  the  rising  generation,  particularly 
those  under  the  influence  of  our  own  denomination,  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  As  many  of  our  people  were  not  pleased  with  the 
movements  of  the  American  Union,  and  some  who  wrere  con- 
nected with  it  felt  dissatisfied  in  that  relation,  they  had  not  en- 
tered so  heartily  nor  so  generally  as  was  desirable  into  the  work 
of  Sabbath  school  instruction;  but  now,  every  objection  arising 
from  these  sources  being  removed,  a  general  and  almost  sim- 
ultaneous action  in  favor  of  this  important  cause  commenced 
throughout  our  ranks,  and  it  has  continued  steadily  increasing  to 
the  present  time,  exerting  a  hallowing  influence  upon  all  who 
come  under  its  control  and  direction.6 

The  object  of  the  Society  is  expressed  in  the  second  article 
of  the  Constitution  :7 

The  object  of  this  society  shall  be  to  promote  the  formation, 
and  to  concentrate  the  efforts,  of  Sabbath  schools  connected  with 
the  congregations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  all 


8See  Methodist  Magazine  (American),  1828,  p.  352,  for  the  statistics. 

'Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  No.  33,  p.  130,  and  No.  36,  p.  142. 

"Methodist   Magazine    (American),    1828,    pp.   349-353.     Extracts    from 
the  First  Annual  Report. 

"Bangs,  Nathan:  History  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church   (1838),  vol. 
iii,  pp.  344-346. 

'Methodist  Magazine   (American),  August,  1827,  pp.  367-369. 
62 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

others  that  may  become  auxiliary;  to  aid  in  the  instruction  of  the 
rising  generation,  particularly  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  in  the  service  and  worship  of  God. 

August,  1827,  the  Methodist  Magazine  gave  some  indication 
of  the  results  of  the  organization.8 

It  was  thought  that  this  measure  [organization  of  the  Sun- 
day School  Union]  would  give  general  satisfaction  to  the  mem- 
bers and  friends  of  our  church,  and  greatly  promote  the  cause  of 
Sunday  schools.  In  this  we  have  not  been  disappointed.  The 
institution  has  received  the  sanction  of  the  Philadelphia,  New 
York,  New  England,  and  Genesee  Conferences,  which  are  all  that 
have  been  held  since  the  formation  of  the  society. 

All  the  schools,  male  and  female,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
have  come  into  union,  and  many  new  helpers  in  the  good  work 
have  come  forward.9 

Much  criticism  by  speech  and  in  print  came  to  the  new  organiza- 
tion. Attempts  to  answer  these  were  made  by  the  Board  over 
the  signature  of  the  secretary.  The  reasons  given  for  organizing 
a  denominational  Union  were  in  part  as  follows : 

The  primary  object  of  Sunday  schools  was  to  impart  ele- 
mentary instruction,  mixed  with  religious  improvement,  to  those 
children  who  were  destitute  of  the  advantages  derived  from  com- 
mon schools.  Though  this  original  object  ought  never  to  be  aban- 
doned, yet  the  general  diffusion  of  this  sort  of  instruction  in  our 
country,  through  the  medium  of  common  schools,  and  public  and 
private  free  schools,  renders  this  object  less  essential.  Hence 
religious  instruction  is  the  grand  and  primary  object  of  Sunday 
school  instruction  in  our  day  and  among  our  children.  On  this 
account,  however  humiliating  the  fact,  a  general  union  of  all 
parties  becomes  the  more  difficult.10    Whatever  may  be  the  inten- 


8Methodist  Magazine  (American),  August,  1827,  pp.  367-369- 

•Ibid.,  pp.  367,  368. 

10The  Massachusetts  Sunday  School  Union  met  the  same  situation. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  in  October,  1828,  it  was 

"Voted,  that  all  books  in  the  depository,  which  are  acceptable  to  each 
denomination  connected  with  the  Union,  shall  be  kept  by  themselves;  and 

63 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

tion,  each  teacher  of  religion  will  more  or  less  inculcate  his  own 
peculiar  views  of  Christianity,  and  thus  insensibly  create  party 
feelings  and  interests.  And  this  difficulty  is  increased  by  the 
practice  recently  adopted  by  the  employment  of  missionaries  who 
are  to  be  supported  from  the  funds  of  the  general  institution. 
The  managers  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  most  likely  way  for  the 
several  denominations  to  live  and  labor  together  in  peace,  is  for 
each  to  conduct  its  own  affairs,  and  still  to  hold  out  the  hand  of 
fellowship  to  its  neighbor.11 

The  New  York  Observer  very  discourteously  discussed  the 
formation  of  a  separate  Union.  This  the  new  organization  an- 
swered at  length.12 

In  a  few  months  after  the  new  plans  had  been  inaugurated 
the  advance  was  marked. 

We  have  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  to  our  friends  the 
unexpected  prosperity  of  this  institution.  Since  its  organization 
the  number  of  children  in  the  city  of  New  York  is  nearly  doubled, 
and  several  of  them  have  become  hopefully  pious.  There  are 
now  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  auxiliary  societies 
formed,  many  of  which  are  large,  and  include  several  branch 
societies.13 


that  all  such  as  are  acceptable  to  the  Baptists,  and  not  to  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  Presbyterians,  or  vice  versa,  shall  be  kept  by  themselves,  and 
that  every  order  for  books  shall  be  answered  by  books  from  the  neutral 
department,  unless  it  is  known  that  others  are  wanted."  The  Union  was 
dissolved  1832. 

A  Brief  History  of  the  Massachusetts  Sabbath  School  Society,  etc. 
(1850). 

""Reasons  for  forming  Methodist  Episcopal  Union."  Address  of  the 
Managers.  Signed  by  Nathan  Bangs,  New  York,  April  17,  1827,  as  cor- 
responding secretary.     Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  No.  33,  pp.  130,  131. 

As  late  as  1838  Methodist  Sunday  schools  in  sufficient  number  to  be 
represented  on  committees  held  to  the  American  Sunday  School  Union.  A 
book  entitled  Union  Questions  was  "approved  by  the  Committee  of  Pub- 
lication, consisting  of  members  of  the  following  denominations :  Baptist, 
Congregational,  Episcopalian,  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  and  Reformed 
Dutch."     (See  cover  to  book.) 

12Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  12,  1827,  No.  36,  pp.  142,  143. 

""Sunday  School  Union,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Meth- 
odist Magazine  (American;,  January,  1828,  p.  38. 

64 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

§  2.   Early  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Union 

The  new  organization  stimulated  all  the  auxiliary  schools. 
As  these  became  auxiliary  they  naturally  reported  their  size  and 
condition.  From  these  we  can  estimate  something  of  the  propor- 
tions of  the  work  prior  to  1827.  The  Baltimore  schools  are  typ- 
ical of  this.    There  were  three  groups  of  schools.14 

1.  Asbury  Sunday  School  Society. 

8  schools. 
863  scholars. 
90  superintendents  and  teachers  who  are  members  of 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
61  superintendents    and    teachers,     volunteers,     not 
members. 

2.  Methodist  Female  Sabbath  School  Association  in  Balti- 
more. 

6  scnools. 
487  scholars. 
100  teachers,  members  of  the  church. 

3.  Fell's  Point. 

2  male  and  1  female  schools. 
300  scholars. 

8  superintendents. 
37  teachers. 

There  was  an  African  Sunday  school  in  New  York  with 
about  seventy  scholars  in  attendance,  mostly  children.  The  cate- 
chism was  used  in  the  general  exercises.  "Some  of  them  could 
read  tolerably  well,"  the  visitor  reported,  "and  most  of  them 
had  some  knowledge  of  the  alphabet."  15 

A  "Methodist  Charity  School"  of  130  boys  and  108  girls, 
mostly  orphans,  were  furnished  with  books,  stationery,  etc. 
They  regularly  attended  the  Sabbath  school.16 


"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  12,  1827,  No.  36,  p.  142. 
"Ibid.,  September  21,  1827,  No.  55,  p.  10. 
"Ibid.,  November  2,  1827,  No.  61,  p.  34. 
65 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  Cambridge  (Aid.)  Sunday  School  Society  reported  in 
September  of  1827  on  a  quarter's  work.17 

115  children — 60  males,  55  females. 
They  have  committed  to  memory 

4,015  verses  of  Scripture. 

2,954  verses  of  hymns. 
546  sections  of  catechism. 

Lord's  Prayer. 

Ten  Commandments,  and  texts  of  Scripture. 

There  are 

11  male  and  13  female  teachers. 

49  male  and  31  female  members  of  the  society. 

Leesburg  (Va.)  Methodist  Sabbath  School  Society  reports 
as  follows : 

The  school  consists  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  scholars, 
divided  into  three  Bible  classes,  two  reference  Testament  classes, 
five  Testament,  and  five  alphabet  and  spelling  classes,  under  the 
care  of  eleven  male  and  fifteen  female  teachers.  .  .  .  The  small 
classes  in  the  alphabet  and  spelling  book,  have  been  taught  in 
3,367  lessons.  The  Testament  classes  have  recited  1 1,022  verses, 
3,622  pages  catechism,  and  2,387  hymns.  The  Bible  classes  have 
been  examined  in  1,913  chapters.18 

§  3.    Problems  of  the  Schools19 

The  problems  before  the  Union  are  well  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing twelve  questions : 

1.  Ought  any  child  who  receives  instruction  in  the  selected 
lessons,  to  be  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures? 

2.  Ought  the  third  annual  course  of  instruction  to  be  taken 
from  the  Old  or  the  New  Testament  ? 

3.  What  are  the  evils  attending  the  late  attendance  of  Sab- 
bath school  teachers?  and  what  are  the  best  means  of  preventing 
the  evils  which  arise  from  late  attendance? 


"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  28,  1827,  No.  56,  p.  14. 

'"Ibid.,  November  2,  1827,  No.  61,  p.  33. 

'"For  the  Sunday  school  problems  in  England  during  this  period  see 
Practical  Hints  on  the  Formation  and  Management  of  Sunday  Schools,  by 
the  Rev.  J.  C.  Wigram,  M.A.,  London,  1834. 

66 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

4.  Ought  a  teacher,  who  absents  himself  from  school  four 
Sabbaths  in  succession,  without  a  proper  excuse,  to  retain  the 
charge  of  his  class? 

5.  How  often  ought  a  teacher  to  visit  the  houses  of  his 
scholars?  and  what  are  the  best  means  to  be  pursued  in  perform- 
ing this  duty  ? 

6.  Are  public  Sunday  school  examinations  beneficial?  and 
if  so,  what  is  the  best  means  of  conducting  them? 

7.  Ought  books,  which  have  not  a  religious  tendency,  to  be 
placed  in  the  library  of  a  Sabbath  school? 

8.  What  is  the  best  method  of  conducting  a  class  in  a  Sab- 
bath school? 

9.  When  may  a  Sabbath  school  teacher  be  said  to  have  fin- 
ished his  work,  and  feel  himself  prepared  conscientiously,  to  give 
up  his  labor  ? 

10.  Ought  the  children  of  the  rich  to  be  introduced  into  the 
existing  Sunday  schools?  and  if  so,  what  are  the  best  means  to 
effect  it  ? 

11.  Ought  one  half  hour  of  each  Sabbath  to  be  exclusively 
devoted  to  religious  instruction?  and  if  so,  ought  it  to  be  given 
by  each  teacher  to  his  class,  or  by  the  superintendent  to  the 
whole  school  ? 

12.  Is  it  expedient  for  a  male  and  a  female  school  to  be  both 
conducted  in  the  same  room  ?20 

§  4.  Early  Work  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  Board 

Several  special  efforts  were  made  in  behalf  of  larger  Sunday 
school  interests. 

A  children's  paper  was  started  in  1827  called  Child's  Maga- 
zine.   The  Christian  Advocate  expressed  its  plan  and  purpose : 

It  is  intended  to  embrace  in  this  little  work  short  practical 
essays,  anecdotes,  narratives,  accounts  of  the  conversion,  and 
happy  deaths  of  children,  facts  illustrative  of  the  conduct  of 
Providence,  sketches  of  natural  history,  poetry,  etc.  The  con- 
stant aim  in  conducting  this  little  work,  will  be  to  lead  the  infant 
mind  to  the  knowledge  of  God  our  Saviour.21 


20"Questions,  &c."     Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  5,   1827, 
No.  57,  p.  18. 

"Ibid.,  1827,  No.  38,  p.  150. 

67 


,  HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  Board  took  aggressive  steps  at  once.  October  9,  1827, 
the  following  resolution  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  a  Sabbath  school  prayer  meeting  be  held  on 
the  last  Monday  evening  in  each  month,  and  that  it  be  recom- 
mended to  auxiliary  associations  to  hold  meetings  for  the  same 
purpose  on  the  same  evening.22 

In  the  records  of  old  Saint  George  Sunday  School,  Philadel- 
phia, are  sentence  reports,  not  always  encouraging,  of  the 
monthly  prayer  meetings  held  very  regularly.  The  entry  of 
August  7,  1 83 1,  however,  reads: 

Many  of  the  children  appeared  much  engaged  in  seeking  the 
salvation  of  their  souls. 

A  second  significant  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Board  at 
its  first  anniversary  meeting,  1828.    The  record  reads : 

A  resolution  was  passed  on  motion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bangs, 
affectionately  requesting  the  ministers  present  to  organize  classes 
in  their  respective  stations  and  circuits  for  the  instruction  of 
Sunday  school  teachers  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  better  qualify- 
ing them  for  their  arduous  and  responsible  duties.23 

The  significance  of  this  resolution  was  seen  a  year  later.     The 
Second  Annual  Report,  June  24,  1829,  read: 

We  have  been  gratified  to  learn  that  the  proposition  has  been 
favorably  received,  and  is  beginning  to  be  acted  upon  in  almost 
every  part  of  our  work.24 

Special  textbooks  were  prepared.     The  Christian  Advocate  and 


"Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer  for  Sabbath  Schools,  Christian  Advo- 
cate and  Journal,  October  19,  1827,  No.  59,  p.  26. 

As  late  as  1846  the  monthly  prayer  meeting  was  prominent.  Dr.  Daniel 
Kidder  wrote :  "No  session  of  the  Sunday  school  is  of  more  importance 
than  that  on  which  the  monthly  prayer  meeting  is  held."  The  Sunday  School 
Teacher's  Guide,  p.  394. 

"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  July  II,  1828,  No.  97,  p.  178.  See 
also  No.  98,  p.  182.     Address  on  first  anniversary  report. 

"Ibid.,  July  3,  1829,  No.  148,  p.  174- 
68 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Journal  announced  October  19,  1827,  "Scripture  Questions  Part 
I,  now  complete." 

The  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  conducted  a  "Sunday- 
School  Department,"  and  departments  for  children,  youth,  and 
parents,  where  often,  as  well  as  in  the  department  of  "General 
Intelligence,"  Sunday  school  material  found  its  way.  September 
5,  1828,  the  paper  began  running  a  series  of  "Letters  on  Sunday 
School  Instruction."  These  discussed  problems  and  set  forth 
methods.25  June  26,  1829,  a  series  of  studies  appeared  entitled 
"Lessons  for  a  Bible  Class  on  the  Book  of  Genesis."  26  This 
publication  seems  to  have  been  made  the  official  organ  of  the 
Union,  as  the  reports  and  resolutions  were  ordered  printed  in  it. 
We  cannot  estimate  what  the  support  of  this  weekly  paper  of  the 
church  meant  to  the  success  of  the  new  enterprise,  so  powerful 
was  its  advocacy. 

Of  real  significance  for  the  New  York  Methodist  schools 
was  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Matthias  to  have  pastoral 
charge  of  the  New  York  Sunday  schools.  His  sermons  to  chil- 
dren became  well  known  and  popular.27 

§  5.    Annual  Reports  of  the  Union 

Not  least  in  the  advantages  to  the  new  organization  was  the 
cooperation  of  the  Book  Concern  of  the  church.  The  First  An- 
nual Report  of  the  Union  contains  the  following  facts : 

Located  as  it  [the  Sunday  School  Union]  is  at  New  York, 
it  possesses  the  peculiar  facilities  afforded  by  the  proximity  of 
our  Book  Concern,  and  is  enabled  by  means  of  the  extensive 
and  increasing  correspondence  of  the  agents,  to  communicate  and 
receive  information  from  every  part  of  the  work,  while  at  the 
same  time  auxiliaries  are  supplied  with  books  and  all  other  neces- 
sary printing  for  the  schools  at  the  shortest  notice  and  on  the 
cheapest  terms.    .     .     . 

26Ibid.,  No.  105. 
Z6Ibid.,  No.  147,  p.  170. 

27Ibid.,  July  11,  1828,  No.  97,  p.  178.  Also  see  "Sermon  to  Children," 
Ibid.,  October  19,  1827,  No.  59,  p.  25. 

69 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Already  they  have  published  for  the  use  of  our  schools  1 1 1 
editions  of  33  different  and  appropriate  books,  besides  10,000 
copies  of  the  Sunday  School  Hymn  Book,  3,500  copies  of  the 
Holy  Bible,  18,000  of  the  New  Testament,  and  6.000  of  the 
Scripture  Questions  on  the  Evangelists  and  Acts.  They  also  have 
just  published  No.  II  of  the  Scripture  Questions,  embracing  the 
historical  parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  they  intend  shortly 
to  publish  No.  Ill  of  this  invaluable  work,  including  all  the 
epistles.  It  is  estimated  that  773,000  books  have  been  printed 
for  the  use  of  our  Sabbath  schools  since  our  organization,  besides 
154,000  numbers  of  the  Child's  Magazine,  and  several  hundred 
thousand  tickets  for  rewards  and  other  purposes;  and  we  under- 
stand the  most  if  not  all  of  these  several  publications  are  already 
stereotyped.  Upward  of  60  depositories  have  been  established  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  for  supplying  the  schools  with 
greater  convenience.28 

The  year  had  indeed  been  a  good  one.  The  report  expressed 
their  sense  of  divine  direction  and  blessing : 

Although  our  institution  is  of  so  recent  a  date,  we  have  ex- 
perienced the  most  signal  manifestations  of  the  smiles  and  bene- 
diction of  Divine  Providence,  and  already  are  we  cheered  by  the 
most  unparalleled  success,  and  look  forward  with  confident  ex- 
pectation to  a  still  more  extended  prosperity.20 

At  the  close  of  the  quotation  from  the  first  Annual  Report  there 
is  added  in  parenthesis  in  the  Methodist  Magazine  (September. 
1828)  : 

Since  the  above  report  was  prepared  there  have  been  added 
upward  of  40  auxiliary  societies,  and  the  number  is  daily  increas- 
ing. 

Figures  are  available  for  a  comparison  of  some  value.  May 
6,  1828,  there  were  under  the  New  York  Sunday  School  Union 
90  schools  in  the  city  and  vicinity,  with  10,116  pupils.30     June 


"Extract  from  First  Annual  Report. 

Methodist  Magazine  (American),  1828,  pp.  349-353;  see  p.  351. 
"Ibid.,  p.  349. 

""Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  16,  1828,  No.  89,  p.  146. 
70 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

30,  1828,  there  were  under  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union 
16  schools  in  the  city  and  vicinity,  with  3,000  pupils.31 

In  1828  the  Sunday  School  Union  received  the  indorse- 
ment of  the  General  Conference.  A  definite  statement  relative  to 
organizing  Sunday  schools  was  added  to  the  Discipline  by  that 
Conference.  It  was  made  a  preacher's  duty  "to  form  Sunday 
schools."  The  Conference  appointed  a  Committee  on  Sunday 
Schools  and  Tracts — a  very  important  step  in  the  relating  of 
Methodist  Sunday  schools  to  the  church. 

The  Sunday  school  success  of  these  years  is  fully  attested  by 
the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Methodist  Union. 

The  Second  Annual  Report32  was  given  June  24,  1829,  and 
showed  there  were 

Three  hundred  and  thirty-one  auxiliary  societies,  many  of 
which  embrace  stations,  circuits,  districts,  and  in  one  instance  a 
whole  Conference. 

When  the  Annual  Report  was  made  up  there  had  been  received 
for  that  year  only  about  seventy  reports,  but  there  were  letters 
and  other  documents  to  be  used  as  a  basis  for  the  report,  as  well 
as  the  previous  year's  record.  On  the  basis  of  these  the  follow- 
ing report  was  given : 

2,000  schools. 
4,000  superintendents. 
30,000  teachers. 
130,000  scholars. 
"Census   of   church   membership    for  American   Methodism    (compare 
with  figures  given  in  Bangs's  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church). 
For  1827* 

Whites  Colored  Indians  Total 

327,932  53.542  523I'  38i,997 

Increase       21,197 

Traveling    Preachers 1,465 

Increase 170 

From  Minutes  of  Annual  Conferences  in  America. 
For  1828%        Total  418,438. 

♦Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1828,  p.  46. 

t  Very  much  smaller  than  figures  given  in  missionary  report,  therefore  probably  not  correct. 

{Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1829,  p.  125. 

82Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  July  3,  1829,  No.  148,  p.  174. 
71 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

showing  an  increase  of 

80  auxiliaries. 
976  schools. 
1,952  superintendents. 
19,710  teachers 
66,760  scholars. 

The  Third  Annual  Report,33  given  May  21,  1830,  showed  a 
most  gratifying  gain: 

406  auxiliaries. 
2,436  schools. 
4,872  superintendents. 
36,540  teachers. 
158,240  scholars. 

The  Report  made  special  mention  of  the  new  emphasis  upon 
infant  schools  in  the  following  statement : 

The  infant  school  system,  now  so  successfully  introduced 
into  our  country,  has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  board,  and  in 
many  places  modifications  of  this  system  have  been  connected 
with  our  Sunday  schools. 

§  6.    Indications  of  Intensity  of  Interest 

The  reports  of  the  Sunday  schools  and  the  Sunday  School 
Association,  so  prolific  in  the  columns  of  the  church  papers,  show 
how  flourishing  the  movement  was.  The  traveling  preacher  had 
much  to  do  with  the  success  of  the  Sunday  school,  but,  more  than 
that,  the  very  air  seemed  charged  with  the  intense  interest  of  the 
people  in  religious  education.  The  record  of  Methodism  in 
Washington  County,  Ohio,  will  serve  as  an  illustration : 

The  Methodists  have  two  traveling,  and  four  local  preachers, 
one  thousand  and  twelve  members,  thirteen  meetinghouses,  and 
fourteen  other  stated  preaching  places,  where  the  congregations 
meet  in  schoolrooms  and  dwelling  houses.  All  have  their  Bible, 
Missionary,  Tract,  and  Sunday  School  Societies.34 

Childhood  in  many  places  took  on  an  intensity  of  living  that 

"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  No.  194,  p.  150. 
"Methodist  Magazine   (American),  1830,  p.  411. 
12 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

tended  toward  the  extremely  abnormal.    This  incident  is  illustra- 
tive : 

Some  of  the  little  boys  [belonging  to  a  Methodist  Sunday 
school  in  North  Carolina]  attend  the  week-day  school,  and  at 
the  hour  of  twelve  o'clock,  when  the  scholars  are  dismissed  for 
dinner,  those  pious  children  are  in  the  habit  of  retiring  into  the 
woods  a  short  distance  from  the  schoolhouse,  to  hold  a  kind  of 
prayer  meeting.  They  had  not  been  long  engaged  in  this  way 
before  they  became  very  happy,  and  shouted  the  praises  of  God, 
sufficiently  loud  to  be  heard  by  some  of  their  schoolmates,  who 
were  at  play  about  the  schoolhouse.  The  first  day  or  two  a 
boy  about  twelve  years  old  was  in  the  habit  of  throwing  stones 
at  those  engaged  in  prayer.  But  afterward  he  went  with  them, 
and  while  there,  was  powerfully  convicted,  insomuch  that  he  was 
unable  to  leave  the  place,  until  the  Lord  spoke  peace  to  his  soul, 
which  he  did  about  the  hour  for  the  school  to  go  in.35 

But  the  educational  work  was  pressed  and  the  plans  were  in 
large  measure  pedagogical.  The  Lynn  Common  Sabbath  School 
was  very  discerning  for  its  day.  Their  report  was  in  part  as 
follows : 

Of  late  we  have  kept  no  account  of  the  quantity  recited  by 
the  scholars ;  we  have  only  noticed  in  the  class  papers  the  state  of 
the  recitation,  and  the  behavior  of  the  scholars;  thinking  that 
good  behavior,  and  perfect  recitations,  though  short,  are  of  more 
consequence  than  long  and  imperfect  ones.  .  .  .  We  have 
formed  a  system  of  Sabbath  school  instruction.  .  .  .  The 
method  we  have  adopted  is  principally  inductive.  .  .  .  The  plan 
embraces  a  course  of  biblical  knowledge,  and  moral  instruction, 
intended  to  be  a  complete  system  of  Sabbath  school  education, 
and  consequently  may  require  from  five  to  ten  years  for  a  child 
who  commences,  to  finish  his  sabbatical  instructions. 

The  following  branches  are  proposed  to  be  attended  to : 


I. 

Scripture. 

2. 

Hymns. 

3- 

Prayers. 

4- 

Catechisms. 

5- 

Scripture  Tables. 

6. 

Sacred  History  and 

Geography. 

"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  1827,  No.  35,  p.  138. 
73 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

7.  Bible  Natural  History. 

8.  Discipline  of  our  Church. 

9.  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

10.  Harmony  of  the  Scriptures  and  Sacred  Chronology. 

11.  Biblical  Archaeology.36 

The  General  Conference  of  1832  gave  some  attention  to  the 
question  of  Sunday  schools.  The  bishops  in  their  address  to  the 
Conference  emphasized  the  value  of  Sunday  school  work.  The 
Conference  ordered  the  publication  of  a  book  '"in  which  shall 
be  laid  down,  in  the  most  simple  form,  the  best  entire  system  of 
Sunday  school  teaching,"  made  it  the  duty  of  the  book  agents  to 
cooperate  with  the  general  editors  in  the  selection  of  Sunday 
school  books,  obligated  presiding  elders  to  "promote"  Sunday 
schools,  and  preachers  in  charge  to  report  Sunday  school  statis- 
tics. 

§  7.    Later  Legislation  and  the  Decline  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union 

In  1833  the  Sunday  School  Union  was  merged  into  a  Bible, 
Sunday  School,  and  Tract  Society.  The  Methodist  Church  has 
counted  Wesley  as  the  originator  of  the  distribution  of  tracts  and 
has  adopted  this  method  of  his  as  one  of  the  most  aggressive 
means  for  religious  work.37  Hence  the  Tract  Society  always 
held  an  important  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  church. 

In  1828  an  attempt  was  made  to  create  a  "publishing  fund" 
of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  by  the  interest  of  which  our 
agents  were  to  publish  Bibles,  tracts,  and  Sunday  school  books  at 
very  reduced  prices.  This  fund  has  reached  only  to  a  little  over 
forty  thousand  dollars;  so  that  the  object  has  been  but  partially 
realized,  though  much  good  has  resulted  from  it.  The  fund 
should  by  all  means  be  completed.88 

The  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract  Society  did  not  print  their 


""Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  24,  1829,  No.  138,  p.  [34. 
"See  Annual   Report  of   Methodist   Sunday  School  Union,    for   1848,  p. 
also  for  1872,  pp.  92-106. 
3  Ibid.,  1845,  p.  51. 

74 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

own  literature,  but  bought  at  cost  from  the  Book  Concern,  the 
Methodist  publishing  house,  and  were  responsible  for  editorial 
work  and  cooperation  in  the  selection  of  books  to  be  printed. 
When  the  Book  Concern  was  in  debt,  as  in  1828,  and  could  not 
from  its  own  resources  publish  Sunday  school  books  and  tracts 
as  cheap  as  seemed  wise  and  necessary,  a  publishing  fund  was 
essential.  This  fund  was  vested  in  the  Book  Concern  to  be  drawn 
upon  by  the  organization  for  which  it  was  held.  It  was  not 
strange  that  the  union  of  the  agencies  in  1833  seemed  expedient. 
The  Tract  Society  and  Sunday  School  Union  have  been  very 
closely  related  in  their  activities,  as  the  history  of  the  Tract 
Society  will  show.39 


"""i.  Historical.  'Mr.  Wesley  was  the  first  and  chief  tract  writer  of  his 
times.'  December  18,  1745,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote :  'We  had  within  a  short  time 
given  away  some  thousands  of  little  tracts  among  the  common  people.'  He 
and  Dr.  Coke  instituted  in  January,  1782,  a  'society  to  distribute  religious 
tracts  among  the  poor.'  In  1817,  according  to  Dr.  Bangs  (History  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  vol.  iii,  pp.  55,  56),  the  'Tract  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church'  was  formed.  In  1828  the  'Publishing  Fund,' 
for  cheapening  religious  literature,  was  established.  March  20,  1833,  the 
'Bible  Society,  Sunday  School  Union,  and  Tract  Society'  were  formally 
united  under  one  Board  of  Managers.  In  November,  1836,  the  Bible  Society 
was  dissolved.  In  1840  the  Sunday  School  Union  assumed  an  independent 
organization.  At  the  General  Conference  of  1844  Rev.  D.  P.  Kidder  was 
elected  'Editor  of  Sunday  School  Books  and  Tracts.'  The  catalogue  for 
1844  showed  a  list  of  352  tracts.  The  'Bishops'  Circular,'  issued  March  24, 
1845,  through  the  agency  of  Rev.  Dr.  Kidder,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the 
work.  The  General  Conference  of  1852  reorganized  the  Tract  work.  Rev. 
Abel  Stevens  was  elected  corresponding  secretary.  In  1854  Dr.  Stevens 
resigned,  and  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Peck  was  elected.  In  1856  Rev.  Dr.  James  Floy 
became  corresponding  secretary.  In  i860  Rev.  Daniel  Wise  was  elected 
corresponding  secretary  by  the  General  Conference.  In  1872  Rev.  J.  H. 
Vincent  was  elected. 

"2.  Objects  of  the  Tract  Society.  (1)  'To  diffuse  religious  knowledge 
by  the  circulation  of  the  publications  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  the  English  and  other  languages,  in  our  own  and  foreign  countries.'  (2) 
To  promote  earnest  lay-labor  in  each  church  and  community,  thus  securing 
a  system  of  pastoral  aid  for  the  work  of  visitation  from  house  to  house.  (3) 
To  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday  School  as  an  agency  for  the  circula- 
tion of  evangelical  literature"  (Annual  Report  of  Sunday  School  Union,  for 
1872,  p.  85). 

75 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  Discipline  of  1836  adds  to  that  of  1828  in  regard  to 
Sunday  schools : 

The  course  of  instruction  shall  not  only  embrace  the  nature 
of  experimental  religion  but  also  the  nature,  design,  privileges, 
and  obligations  of  their  baptism.40 

Also  as  the  duty  of  every  preacher : 

To  appoint  a  suitable  leader  for  each  class  who  shall  instruct 
them  in  his  absence,  recommend  to  the  preacher  such  among  them 
as  he  may  think  suitable  to  be  received  among  us  on  trial. 

Under  the  duties  of  the  bishop   (Sec.  4)   in  the  Discipline  of 
1836  we  read: 

He  shall  have  authority,  when  requested  by  an  Annual  Con- 
ference, to  appoint  an  agent,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  travel 
throughout  the  bounds  of  such  Conference  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  and  aiding  Sabbath  schools,  and  distributing  tracts. 

The  Sunday-Scliool  Messenger,  originally  a  magazine, 
started  in  Boston,  in  1837,  by  the  Rev.  D.  S.  King,  was  merged 
into  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  in  1846,  that  there  might  be 
but  one  Methodist  Sunday  school  paper.41 

In  1836  the  General  Conference  advised  the  dissolution  of 
the  Bible  Society;  and  that  the  influence  should  be  given  to  the 
American  Bible  Society.  From  this  period,  however,  the  Sun- 
day School  Union  rapidly  declined.  This  decline  was  not  due 
to  the  change  of  organization  alone,  although  undoubtedly  the 
combination  of  the  two  large  and  commanding  interests  since 
1832  had  retarded  the  usually  aggressive  work.  A  large  element 
in  the  situation  was  the  burning  of  the  Book  Concern,  February 
18,  1836,  destroying  offices,  records,  books,  and  plates.  It  re- 
quired beginning  de  novo.  For  four  years  the  Sunday  School 
Union  was  inactive,  though  local  associations  and  schools 
throughout  the  country  thrived,  and  many  friends  espoused  the 
cause.    A  sentence  from  the  address  of  J.  Cross,  October  6,  1839, 


""Sec.  15. 

"Dorchester,   Daniel :   Christianity  in  the  United   States,  p.  428    (pub., 
.    Annual  Report  for  1846,  pp.  6,  28. 
76 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

on  "A  Plea  for  Sabbath  Schools,"  expresses  the  conviction  of 
many  leaders : 

No  benevolent  or  religious  enterprise  of  the  present  day  has 
stronger  claims  upon  the  zeal  and  the  liberality  of  Christians.42 

The  Sunday  School  Union  could  not  be  inactive  long.  Its  reor- 
ganization came  as  a  necessity  of  the  situation,  as  an  outburst  of 
the  pent-up  forces  of  a  growing  evangelistic  church. 


42Methodist  Magazine  (American),  1840  (pp.  163-179),  p.  174. 


77 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PERIOD  OF  ORGANIZATIONAL  PROGRESS, 
1 840- 1 908 

§    I.     A    QUADRENNIUM    OF    Re-BEGINNINGS,     184O-1844 

What  a  resurrection  the  year  1840  recorded!  Sunday 
schools  had  continued  to  flourish,  but  the  Board  that  had  since 
1827  been  the  leader  and  the  general  of  the  movement  was  await- 
ing the  call  to  new  life.  The  call  came  through  the  zeal  of  some 
New  York  Methodists  and  the  legislation  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1840.  The  Discipline,  unchanged  except  in  minor 
details  since  1828,  evidences  the  rebirth.    It  reads: 

Question.  What  shall  we  do  for  the  rising  generation? 
Answer,  1.  Let  Sunday  schools  be  formed  in  all  our  congregations 
where  ten  children  can  be  collected  for  that  purpose.  And  it 
shall  be  the  special  duty  of  preachers  having  charge  of  circuits 
and  stations,  with  the  aid  of  the  other  preachers,  to  see  that  this 
be  done;  to  engage  the  cooperation  of  as  many  of  our  members 
as  they  can;  to  visit  the  schools  as  often  as  practicable;  to  preach 
on  the  subject  of  Sunday  schools  and  religious  instruction  in  each 
congregation  at  least  once  in  six  months ;  to  lay  before  the  Quar- 
terly Conference  at  each  quarterly  meeting,  to  be  entered  on  its 
journal,  a  written  statement  of  the  number  and  state  of  the  Sun- 
day schools  within  their  respective  circuits  and  stations,  and  to 
make  a  report  of  the  same  to  their  several  Annual  Conferences. 
Each  Quarterly  Conference  shall  be  deemed  a  Board  of  Managers 
having  supervision  of  all  the  Sunday  schools  and  Sunday  school 
societies  within  its  limits,  and  shall  be  auxiliary  to  the  Sunday 
School  Union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  and  each  An- 
nual Conference  shall  report  to  said  Union  the  number  of  auxil- 
iaries within  its  bounds,  together  with  other  facts  presented  in 
the  annual  reports  of  the  preachers  as  above  directed.1 

The  legislation   further   recommended    the   appointment  of 
a  special  agent  to  travel  throughout  the  bounds  of  each  Annual 
'Discipline,  1840,  Sec.  xvi. 

78 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Conference  "where  the  general  state  of  the  work  will  allow,"  "for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  the  interests  of  Sunday  schools."  The 
extensive  use  of  the  catechisms  in  "our  Sunday  schools  and 
families,"  and  the  faithful  enforcing  by  the  preachers  upon  par- 
ents and  teachers  of  "the  importance  of  instructing  children  in  the 
doctrines  and  duties  of  our  holy  religion,"  were  enjoined.  It 
was  made  the  special  duty  of  preachers  to  form  "Bible  classes  for 
the  instruction  of  larger  children  and  youth"  wherever  they  could, 
and  to  appoint  suitable  leaders  where  they  could  not  superintend 
them  personally.  For  the  permanency,  continuity,  and  vital 
meaning  of  the  effort  with  the  children  the  following  was  added : 

5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  preacher  of  a  circuit  or  sta- 
tion to  obtain  the  names  of  the  children  belonging  to  his  congre- 
gations, and  leave  a  list  of  such  names  for  his  successor;  and  in 
his  pastoral  visits  he  shall  pay  special  attention  to  the  children, 
speak  to  them  personally,  and  kindly,  on  experimental  and  prac- 
tical godliness,  according  to  their  capacity,  pray  earnestly  for 
them,  and  diligently  instruct  and  exhort  all  parents  to  dedicate 
their  children  to  the  Lord  in  baptism  as  early  as  convenient ;  and 
let  all  baptized  children  be  faithfully  instructed  in  the  nature, 
design,  privileges,  and  obligations  of  their  baptism.  Those  of 
them  who  are  well  disposed  may  be  admitted  to  our  class  meet- 
ings and  love  feasts;  and  such  as  are  truly  serious,  and  manifest 
a  desire  to  flee  the  wrath  to  come,  shall  be  advised  to  join  society 
as  probationers.2 

Thus  were  fostered  the  high  hopes  of  the  zealot  leaders  of 
that  historic  year.  The  book  of  Minutes3  in  the  secretary's  hand- 
writing announces  December  14,  1840,  as  the  busy  day  of  reor- 
ganization and  records  a  significant  motion : 

That  the  corresponding  secretary  be  instructed  to  open  a 
correspondence  with  foreign  and  domestic  societies  on  Sunday 
school  subjects. 

During  the  next  few  months  this  earnest  company  of  men 
composing  the  new  board  had  decided  to  publish,  in  order  to  put 

2Ibid.,  Sec.  xvi,  5. 

3Sunday  School  Union,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Minutes  from 
December  14,  1840,  to  April  26,  1876). 

79 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

into  general  use,  the  questions  on  the  Monthly  subjects  for  Scrip- 
ture Proofs  used  in  the  Methodist  Schools  of  New  York4  and  to 
publish  "a  Sunday  School  Journal  or  paper,  semimonthly,  for  the 
use  of  Sunday  school  teachers,  superintendents,  and  others  en- 
gaged in  Sunday  schools,  to  be  devoted  to  the  general  interests 
of  the  Sunday  school  cause,  and  to  be  also  the  organ  of  the  Sun- 
day School  Union."  5  They  considered  "the  subject  of  publish- 
ing suitable  apparatus  and  books  for  Infant  Schools,"  6  and  the 
"getting  up  Mission  Sunday  Schools."  7  The  publishing  of  Sun- 
day school  papers  had  been  quite  a  problem.  The  specimen  num- 
ber of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  published  July  2,  1841,  con- 
tains this  editorial  statement : 

We  have  tried  to  sustain  a  "Youth's  Instructor  and  Guard- 
ian and  Sunday  School  Assistant,"  but  without  success.  We 
have  tried  to  sustain  a  "Youth's  Magazine,"  and  that  has  failed. 
We  now  make  another  experiment,  viz.,  the  "Sunday  School  Ad- 
vocate." 8 

Three  years  previously  they  had  begun  The  Youth's  Magazine 
(monthly),  but  discontinued  it  to  make  room  for  the  Advocate.9 
The  basis  for  estimating  success  seemed  to  be  the  ability  to  meet 
the  expense  of  publication.  The  report  of  the  Sunday  School 
Advocate  shows  a  50,000  circulation  in  1845.10  This  signal  vic- 
tory insured  perpetuity  and  long  life  to  the  new  paper. 

The  Sunday  School  Union,  vigorous  in  its  resurrection 
power,  sought  for  an  opportunity  of  dealing  first-hand  with  the 
Sunday  school  problem.  In  April  they  had  considered  the  ques- 
tion of  "getting  up  Mission  Sunday  Schools."  The  following 
month  they  ordered  one  for  colored  children  and  one,  presumably, 
for  white  children. 


'February  22,  1841. 

"Ibid.,  ordered  published  April  26  as  a  "paper  of  miscellaneous  char- 
acter." 

•April  26,  1 84 1. 
'Ibid. 

8Page  6.     [The  Sunday  School  Classmate  was  begun  April,  1873.] 
"Ibid.,  p.  5. 

"Annual  Report,  1845,  p.  41.     (For  the  year  April,  1844,  to  April,  1845.) 
80 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  colored  one  seems  never  to  have  been  begun,  probably 
because  they  failed  to  get  the  cooperation  from  the  public  school 
which  they  had  anticipated.  On  June  6  they  opened  the  other 
with  a  pledge  of  $50  per  year  for  rent,  and  applied  $5  for  Infant 
School  apparatus  for  it.11  Such  were  their  humble  beginnings, 
the  operating  of  a  single  school  in  New  York  city,  and  the  aiding 
of  struggling  schools  with  the  small  means  at  command,  with  the 
Bibles  and  Testaments,  granted  by  the  American  Bible  Society12 
for  distribution,13  and  with  library  books  published  by  the  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern  for  the  Sunday  School  Board. 

These  library  books  were  granted  to  especially  needy 
schools.14  A  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Library  was  ordered  pub- 
lished October  29,  1842. 

Some  of  the  auxiliaries  that  affiliated  with  this  Union  were 
very  flourishing.15  Occasionally  these  reports  were  incorpor- 
ated in  the  minutes  of  the  Board  meeting.  Such  a  one  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Oct.  29,  1842. 

Genesee  Conference  Sunday  School  Report:  "378  schools, 
3,114    superintendents    and    teachers,    16,130    scholars,    29,245 


"October  23,  1841.  Report  on  the  school.  Opened  with  35  scholars, 
now  55,  average,  40;  4  male  and  2  female  teachers  (besides  members  of  com- 
mittee, one  or  two  each  session)  ;  24  bound  volumes  and  a  number  of  tracts. 
Teachers  contribute  a  small  amount  weekly  for  stove  and  fuel. 

July  29,  1844,  it  was  reported  that  the  New  York  City  Sunday  School 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  "would  take  care  of  all  schools 
in  the  city." 

12July  26,  they  received  their  first  grant — 300  Bibles  and  700  Testaments. 

13August  23,  1841.  Request  from  a  school  "in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  the 
City  of  Brooklyn,  for  one  dozen  Testaments  and  one  Bible;  the  school  has 
37  scholars,  about  one-half  read ;  the  school  has  6  Testaments.  Granted." 
(First  application  where  school  is  described  in  the  minutes.) 

"September  27,  1841.  Grant  of  $8  worth  of  library  books  to  the  Sun- 
day School  at  Rising  Sun,  Philadelphia  Conference.  (First  grant  of  library 
books  by  this  reorganized  Board.) 

15"The  number  of  schools  and  scholars  have  more  than  trebled  during 
the  past  year."  1841 :  108  schools,  121  superintendents,  610  teachers,  4,168 
scholars,  5,150  volumes.  Tennessee  Conference  (Sunday  School  Advocate, 
1841,  vol.  i,  p.  45). 

81 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

volumes  in  the  libraries;  being  an  increase,  over  those  reported 
last  year,  of  113  schools,  956  superintendents  and  teachers,  3,607 
scholars,  and  4,421  volumes  in  libraries." 

Some  encouragement  came  to  this  eager  Board  from  such  a  re- 
port as  that  of  Lebanon,  Illinois,  where  a  grant  of  books  had  been 
made.    This  too  was  spread  on  the  minutes,  February  26,  1844: 

The  school  was  now  divided  into  two  flourishing  schools; 
there  had  since  been  a  revival  in  the  place;  and  a  church  was 
about  to  be  built.  There  are  now  fifty  church  members  where  a 
short  time  ago  there  were  no  professors  of  religion  except  the 
lady  who  had  established  this  school. 

The  1844  Anniversary  was  held  with  Bishop  Waugh  pre- 
siding. A  collection  of  $80.25  evidenced  that  friends  were  inter- 
ested. The  four  years  and  over  had  been  meager  ones  in  the 
resources  at  their  command  as  a  Board,  $685.22  the  grand  total 
from  December,  1840,  to  May,  1845. 16  But  the  years  had  justi- 
fied the  organization,  and  hope  and  consecration  were  factors  to 
be  reckoned  with  by  the  lawmaking  body  of  the  church,  the  Gen- 
eral Conference. 

§  2.   The  Years  of  Calamities  and  of  Unprecedented 
Progress,  1844- 1868 

May,  1844,  marked  a  glad,  new  day  in  the  program  of  Sun- 
day school  work.    The  Board  passed  the  resolution 

That  the  General  Conference  be  respectfully  requested  to 
appoint  an  Editor  of  the  Sunday  School  books  and  publications 
whose  entire  time  shall  be  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  Sunday 
School  Cause. 

The  request  was  granted  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  Parish  Kidder. 
D.D.,  was  elected  the  first  "Editor  of  Sunday  School  Books  and 
Tracts,"  and  on  June  24,  1844,  the  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  Sunday  School  Union.  His  coming  to  the  work  has  been 
called  the  marking  of  "an  era  in  the  history  of  the  Sabbath  school 


"Annual  Report  of  Sunday  School  Union,  for  1848,  p.  82. 
82 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

cause  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  17  He  possessed  great 
organizing  ability,  and  the  publications  of  papers  and  books 
showed  a  higher  literary  ideal  and  a  better  business  management. 
He  arranged  with  the  Religious  Tract  Society  of  London  for  a 
free  exchange  of  books,18  solicited  the  aid  of  many  good  Amer- 
ican writers,  and  compiled  and  edited  eight  hundred  Sunday 
school  books.  He  also  prepared  the  standard  catechism  of  the 
Church. 

The  General  Conference  of  1844  added  to  previous  legisla- 
tion these  words : 

And  it  is  recommended  that,  in  all  cases  where  it  can  be  done, 
our  Sunday  schools  contribute  to  the  amount  of  at  least  one  cent 
per  quarter  for  each  teacher  and  scholar.  One  half  of  the 
amount  so  collected  in  each  school  shall  be  appropriated  for  the 
purchase  of  tracts,  to  be  distributed  under  the  direction  of  the 
preachers  and  superintendents,  and  the  other  half  shall  be  for- 
warded to  the  treasurer  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  for  the  purposes  specified  in  the  Constitu- 
tion of  said  Union. 

This  meant  a  greatly  increased  opportunity  for  service  for 
the  Board  as  the  report  for  the  years  immediately  following 
shows.19 


"Sunday   School  Journal,   vol.  ii,    (January,    1870),   p.   74,   on   "Daniel 
Parish  Kidder,  D.D." 

See  Annual  Report   for   1856,  pp.  81,  82.     Resolutions  passed   by  the 
Board  of  Managers  upon  Dr.  Kidder's  retirement  from  office  (1856). 
"Minutes  of  November  25,  1844. 

The  Sunday  School  Union's  "first  annual  report  was  issued  in  pamphlet 
form,  in  1845."    Annual  Report  for  1850,  p.  12. 
"Receipts  of  the  Union : 

From  1840,  to  May 1845  $     685 .22 

In     1846  2,336.88 

In    1847  3,788.66 

In     1848  4,676 .  79 

In     1849  4,058 .  74 

In     1850  5,008.60 

In     1851  6,561.80 

In     1852  7,258.09 

In     1853  9,58417 

83 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

With  so  fine  a  body  of  legislation  the  next  task  became  that 
of  rallying  the  whole  church.  The  keynote  of  the  Anniversary 
of  1845  was  sounded  in  the  challenge  of  the  first  speech: 

Resolved,  That  at  the  present  day  no  Christian  can  be  con- 
sidered excusable  for  indifference  to  the  cause  of  Sunday  school 
instruction. 

Bishop  Janes  spoke  on  the  value  of  the  child,  in  its  possibilities 
and  destiny  and  in  its  future  service  to  the  church  and  the  race.20 
In  the  published  Annual  Report  a  spirited  plea  for  the  Sunday 
School  Union  was  made  to  the  church.21  Speaking  of  the  years 
of  nonorganization  it  urged : 

There  was  no  common  center  about  which  we  could  rally — 
no  visible  bond  of  attachment  connecting  our  efforts — no  agency 
for  receiving  contributions  to  this  cause,  and  distributing  their 
avails  to  the  destitute — no  provision  for  collecting  and  arranging 
statistics — and,  in  fine,  no  authorized  and  efficient  organization 
designed  to  deliberate  upon  the  great  interests  involved  in  this 
department  of  Christian  labor,  or  to  devise  means  for  their  pro- 
motion.22 


In    1854  10,170.28 

In     1855  11,381.54 

In     1856  12.316.37 

In     1857  11,268.88 

In     1858  11,299.57 

In     1859  12,796.74 

In     i860  12,007.32 

In     1861  11,214.64 

In     1862  9.595-89 

In     1863  12,978.48 

In     1864  17,839.47 

In     1865  17,738.17 

In     1866  19,620.08 

In     1867  23,203.82 

Annual  Report  for   1867,  p.   18. 

There  was  still  on  hand  in  1847  some  $400  of  the  funds  of  the  old 

Tract  and   Sunday  School  Society  which  was  paid  over  to  the  new  Board. 
Minutes,  March  29,  1847. 

"Annual  Report,   1845,  pp.  8-10. 

"Ibid.,  pp.  17-26. 

"Ibid.,  pp.  17,  18. 

84 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

A  challenge  in  the  appeal  is  given  in  the  words : 

Who  are  to  educate  religiously  the  children  of  the  three  or 
four  millions  of  people  who  attend  our  churches  and  look  to  none 
others  so  much  as  to  us  for  religious  guidance  and  instruction? 
Who,  unless  we  do  it  ourselves?23 

The  ideals  of  the  Union  at  this  time  were  expressed  in  six 
points  :24  the  cooperation  of  the  ministry  and  membership  of  the 
church;  the  enlistment  of  children  "universally";  improvement 
of  "plans  and  modes  of  instruction,"  and  especially  of  the  quali- 
fications of  teachers;  the  arousing  of  the  missionary  spirit;  the 
increase  of  the  income  of  the  Union  until  it  could  meet  the  needs 
"of  all  the  destitute  throughout  our  connection" ;  and  the  mak- 
ing of  the  movement  prominent  before  the  public.  This  last  point 
was  urged  in  the  following  language : 

We  must  preach,  talk,  and  write  more  upon  these  subjects. 
We  must  call  local  and  general  conventions,  in  order  to  excite 
attention,  to  compare  views,  and  to  stimulate  exertions.  This 
has  already  been  done  with  fine  effect  in  several  places,  and 
should  be  repeated  as  often  and  as  long  as  the  cause  is  found  pro- 
ductive of  good. 

An  encouraging  note  found  its  way  into  the  minutes  of  July  7, 
1845,  which  shows  something  of  the  work  at  large: 

The  corresponding  secretary  reported  that  since  the  last 
meeting  he  had  visited  several  Conferences  and  in  all  had  asked 
and  obtained  the  passage  of  a  resolution  to  take  up  collections 
for  the  Union  at  all  the  appointments  within  their  bounds.  He 
had  found  much  want  of  information  among  the  preachers  on 
the  subject  of  the  Union,  and  had  met  with  great  encouragement 
wherever  he  had  presented  its  claims. 

"Ibid.,  p.  23:  "While  the  average  number  of  children  in  the  Sunday 
schools  of  some  other  Christian  denominations  is  about  equal  to  their  church 
communicants  respectively,  the  proportion  in  our  own  church  is  considerably 
less  than  one  third !  With  a  membership  of  over  one  million,  we  number 
only  about  three  hundred  thousand  children  in  all  our  Sunday  schools !  The 
largest  proportion  of  Sunday  school  children  to  church  members  in  any  of 
the  Annual  Conferences  is  about  as  one  to  two,  while  in  some  of  them  it  is 
less  than  one  to  ten !"     (Annual  Report,  1845,  P-  SO.) 

2Tbid.,  pp.  38,  39- 


Officers  and 

Schools 

Teachers 

Scholars 

1844 

4,546 

44.745 

260,585 

1847 

6,568 

65,146 

340,230 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  rapid  strides  of  these  years  in  the  extension  of  the  Sun- 
day school  can  in  part  be  told  by  the  comparison  of  figures : 


(1) 


Gain              2,022                   20,401  79,645 

During  these  four  years  the  division  of  the  Methodist  church  had 

withdrawn  nearly  half  the  territory  which  the  report  of  1844 
covered.25 

Officers  and 

Schools             Teachers  Scholars 

184526             5,oo5                   47,252  268,775 

(2)                   1853"             9,438                 102,732  525,008 


Gain  4,433  55,48o  256,233 

The  increase  during  the  nine  years  was  about  equal  to  the  whole 
progress  for  the  sixty  years,  1784  to  1845.  The  report  on  the 
basis  of  the  years  up  to  1853  and  inclusive,  says:28 

During  the  last  seven  years  we  have  expended  over  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars  on  our  schools.  And,  what  is  best  of 
all,  God  has  deigned  to  crown  our  Sunday  school  labors  with 
the  conversion  of  seventy-seven  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighty-six  souls — an  average  of  eleven  thousand  per  annum. 

Officers  and 

Schools  Teachers  Scholars  Conversions 

1848  6,758  70,264  357,032  8,240 

(3)  1858  11,834  131,344  695.302  32,315 

The  numbers  had  almost  doubled  and  the  conversions  were  nearly 
fourfold. 


"Annual  Report  for  1848,  p.  81. 

2"Ibid.,  1845,  P-  43-  [For  the  year  April,  1844-April,  1845.  The  statistics 
for  April,  1845-April,  1846,  were  embodied  in  a  "Circular"  sent  to  the  several 
Annual  Conferences.  (See  Appendix  B  in  the  report  for  the  calendar  year  of 
1846  under  date  of  January,  1847.)  After  January,  1846,  all  reports  follow 
calendar  years.     See  Report  for  1846,  p.  13. J 

"Ibid.,  for  1854,  p.  13. 

"Ibid. 

86 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

It  was  during  this  period  of  such  great  advance29  that  three 
items  of  importance  were  added  to  the  legislation.  In  1852  the 
General  Conference  (Discipline  Sec.  XI)  made  it  the  preacher's 
duty 

to  publicly  catechise  the  children  in  the  Sunday  school,  at  special 

"General  Sunday  School  Statistics,  1850* 

♦Annual  Report  for  1850.     Appendix  B,  pp.  101-103. 

"We  have  been  at  some  pains  of  late  to  collect,  for  the  purpose  of  pub- 
lishing in  this  Annual  Report,  correct  and  particularly,  official  Sunday  school 
statistics  from  all  reliable  sources,  hoping  to  be  able  to  present  a  numerical 
exhibit  of  the  entire  Sunday  school  cause  at  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

"There  doubtless  are  other  Sunday  school  statistics  in  existence,  but 
we  have  not  been  able  to  gain  possession  of  them;  and  we  now  publicly  invite 
other  Societies,  Unions,  or  Churches,  not  here  represented,  as  well  as  those 
whose  figures  may  change  during  the  present  year,  to  forward  us  their 
statistics  for  publication  hereafter. 

"England 
"Schools  Teachers  Scholars 

"London  S.  S.  Union  503  10,207  100,075 

"(Interdenominational,   comprising  a  circle  of   5  miles  around   City  Post 
Office.) 
"Wesleyan  Methodist 

Church    (Great    Britain)         4,444  84,650  465,402 

"Primitive  Methodist 

Church  1,278  20,114  

"United  States 
"Mass.  S.  S.  Society  433  8,753  72,985 

"(Cong.  Churches  in  (Returns  imperfect  and  the  Secretary  estimates 

New  England)  500  10,000  90,000  to  100,000) 

"Unitarian    S.    S.    Soc.  236  2,663  16,546 

"(Returns  from  only  162  schools.) 

"Reformed    Dutch    Church  382  19.791 

"Protestant  Epis.  Church  7.554  44, 148 

"M.  E.  Church,  South  1,262  7,409  44,500 

"(Five  Conferences  at  least  not  reported.) 
"M.  E.  Church  8,021  84,840  429,589 

"American    S.    S.   Union  

"New  England  S.  S.  (Bapt.)      

"Canada 
"Wesleyan  Meth.  Church  300  1,560  10,560 


'In  Methodist  Schools  15,305  198,573  950,151 

aggregating  1,148,724  enrolled  in  Methodist  Sunday  Schools." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

meetings  appointed  for  that  purpose;  to  form  Bible  classes  for 
instruction  of  larger  children  and  youth30  and  to  attend  to  all  the 
duties  prescribed  for  the  training  of  children. 

He  was  required  to  report  at  each  Quarterly  Conference  on  the 
catechising  and  on  the  condition  of  the  Sunday  school. 

The  General  Conference  of  1856  made  the  superintendent  a 
member  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  with  all  the  privileges  of 
other  members  of  that  body,  thus  recognizing  the  Sunday  School 
as  an  integral  part  of  the  church. 

A  year  selected  midway  through  this  period  presents  some 
other  interesting  facts  in  Sunday  school  work.  The  printing  and 
library  work  in  1856  shows  that  the  Sunday  School  Union  was 
rendering  a  large  service  in  that  department.  There  was  em- 
phasis upon  having  this  literature,  "in  the  main,  American  in  its 
scenery,  spirit,  sentiments,  and  characters,  while  books  of  foreign 
origin  should  be  introduced  carefully  and  sparingly."  31 

Printing  in  1856s2 

Number  of  pages  of  Sunday  school  books  printed  at  New  York 
during  the  year 70,209,750 

Pages  of  books  contained  in  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  printed 
in  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  counting  each  page  of  the  new 
series  as  equivalent  to  fifteen  pages  of  an  i8mo  book,  and  of 
the  old  to  fourteen 277,920,000 

Total  number  of  i8mo  pages  printed 348,129,750 

Sunday  School  Books  Bound  in  1856 

Turning  from  the  printing  office  to  the  bindery,  we  learn  that  the 

number  of  Sunday  school  volumes  bound  during  the  year  was  593,801 

Publications  of  various  sizes,  put  up  in  paper  covers 471,908 

Number  of  children's  tracts,  put  up  in  packages 1,006,000 

Total  of  publications  prepared  for  issue 2,071,709 

Counting  three  hundred  working  days   in   the  year,   the  above 

The  Conference  of  i860  added  "and  adults." 

"Annual  Report,  for  1856,  p.  78. 

'"During  the  year  the  publication  was  begun,  entitled  Die  Sonntag- 
Schul  Glocke,  a  paper  for  German  speaking  children.  It  was  published  at 
Cincinnati,  editor  William  Nast.    Annual  Report,  p.  81. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

totals    show   that   our   bindery   has   turned    out   daily,    on    an 

average,  of  bound  volumes,  nearly 2.000 

And  of  Sunday  school  publications,  of  all  sorts 6,905 

The  products  of  the  bindery,  when  compared  with  those  of  last 
year,  show  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  publications  prepared 

for  issue,  of 2,075 

We  now  have  nearly  eleven  hundred  volumes  of  Sunday  school  books, 
exclusive  of  requisites,  on  our  catalogue.33 

Two  items  from  the  report  of  the  year  1857  demand  atten- 
tion: 

SIX  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY-NINE  THOUSAND 
ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY  CHILDREN  {one-tenth 
of  the  children  of  this  nation,  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fif- 
teen,) are,  at  this  moment,  in  the  Sunday  schools  of  our  church! 

During  the  last  eleven  years  nearly  eighty-nine  per  cent  of 
the  net  increase  of  our  church  membership  has  been  derived  from 
our  Sunday  schools.34 

As  might  be  expected,  the  year  ending  in  1862  presented  the 
first  decrease  since  1846,  when  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  separated  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This 
decrease  of  293  schools  and  9,306  scholars  was  due  to  the  seces- 
sion of  the  Southern  States.  There  was  a  decrease  in  21  Confer- 
ences, but  in  spite  of  the  war,  30  Conferences  showed  an  increase 
in  the  enrollment  of  scholars.  The  receipts  dropped  $1,618.75 
and  were  $798.14  less  than  expenditures.35 

The  year  1864  was  a  General  Conference  year.  The  report 
contained  a  comparison  for  the  quadrennium  from  1859  to 
1863.36 


^Annual  Report  for  1856, 

PP.  77,  78. 

3Tbid.,  for  1857,  PP.  69,  71 

3Tbid.,  for  1862,  pp.  9,  10, 

and  13. 

^Ibid.,  for  1863,  p.  11. 

Officers  and 

Schools 

Teachers 

Scholars 

Total  in  1859 

12,809 

140.527 

747-148 

Total  in  1863 

13,088 

148,582 

841,706 

Increase   279  8,055  94-558 

Total  of  conversions  for  the  four  years  ending  with  1863,  70,076. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  year  1863  showed  an  increase  in  number  of  scholars, 
in  the  amount  of  literature  published,  in  the  circulation 
of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate,  and  in  the  number  of  conver- 
sions.37 

In  1864  the  work  went  back  to  an  encouraging  increase  in 
all  departments.  Gratitude  is  expressed  in  the  following 
report.38 

Another  year  of  war  has  failed  to  hinder  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  her  work  of  training  our  nation's  little  ones 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  Prosperity  has  smiled  upon  every  de- 
partment of  our  Sunday  school  work.  The  facts  in  this  report 
are  such  as  to  awaken  renewed  gratitude  in  the  hearts  of  all  who, 
like  our  blessed  Master,  love  to  see  childhood  led  into  the  way  of 
salvation. 

The  General  Conference  made  some  important  additions  in 
Sunday  school  legislation,  largely  in  the  direction  of  relating  the 
Sunday  school  more  closely  to  the  church  :39  The  superintendent 
must  be  a  member  of  the  church;  the  Quarterly  Conference  was 
to  have  "supervision"  over  the  Sunday  school  through  a  Sun- 
day School  Committee  it  was  required  to  appoint,  and  was  given 
the  power  to  remove  the  superintendent  if  found  unworthy  or 
inefficient;  the  Sunday  School  Committee  was  made  responsible 
for  aiding  in  the  procuring  of  teachers,  for  seeking  to  promote 
the  attendance  of  the  children  at  school  and  regular  public 
worship,  and  in  raising  money  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
Sunday  schools  of  the  charge.  The  preacher,  the  superin- 
tendent, and  the  committee  were  charged  with  deciding  "what 
books  shall  be  used  in  our  Sunday  schools."  Each  preacher 
was  required  to  report  for  the  Quarterly  Conference  journal 
"the  number,  state,  and  average  attendance  of  the  Sunday  schools 
and  Bible  classes  in  his  charge  and  the  extent  to  which  he  has 
preached  to  the  children  and  catechised  them."     The  General 


'"Annual  Report  for  1863,  pp.  9  and  13. 

Il.id.,  for  1864,  p.  8. 
*"See  the  Discipline,  also  Annual  Report  for  1864,  pp.  10-19. 
90 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Conference  Journal  for  1864  contains  an  interesting  resolution 
(page  263)  : 

That  it  is  the  duty  of  each  preacher-in-charge,  aided  by  the 
other  preachers  and  the  Sunday  School  Committee,  to  see  that  our 
Sunday  schools  be  continued  through  the  winter,  as  well  as 
other  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  year  1865  presented  its  problems.  The  expenses  of 
material  and  labor  and  the  heavy  internal  revenue  tax  made  the 
printing  business  unprofitable.  In  spite  of  this  thirty-four  new 
publications  were  added,  twenty-six  of  which  were  books!40 

The  report  of  the  Board  for  1866  had  a  jubilant  note,  with 
a  great  vision : 

The  Sunday  school  department  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  never  more  prosperous  than  during  the  year  just 
departed.  Increased  numerical  strength,  internal  improvement, 
and  greater  spiritual  efficiency,  mark  its  history.  Never  before 
have  our  leading  Sunday  school  men  so  generally  and  earnestly 
aspired  to  elevate  the  standard  of  instruction,  and  never  have 
we  had  so  many  conversions  reported.  These  are  cheering  facts 
in  themselves,  and  they  indicate  the  coming  of  a  day  when  the 
failure  of  a  school  to  bring  its  pupils  to  Jesus  and  into  the  church 
will  be  deemed  an  exceptional  experience.  The  time  will  soon 
come,  we  trust,  when  the  vast  majority  of  our  Sunday  school 
scholars  will  be  so  trained  as  to  be  early  led  into  the  fellowship 
of  Jesus  and  of  his  church. 

Stevens,  speaking  of  the  Methodist  Church  at  this  time,  says : 

It  now  [1866]  has  (aside  from  its  offspring  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South)  13,400  schools,  more  than  150,000 
teachers  and  officers,  and  near  918,000  scholars,  about  19,000  of 
whom  are  reported  as  converted  during  the  last  year.  There  are 
in  the  libraries  of  these  schools  more  than  2,529,000  volumes. 
They  are  supported  at  an  annual  expense  of  more  than  $216,000, 
besides  nearly  $18,000  given  to  the  Union  for  the  assistance  of 
poor  schools.  There  are  circulated  among  them,  semimonthly, 
nearly  260,000  ''Sunday  School  Advocates,"  the  juvenile  period- 
ical of  the  Union.     The  number  of  conversions  among  pupils  of 


40 Annual  Report  for  1865,  p.  13. 
91 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

the  schools,  as  reported  for  the  last  eighteen  years,  amount  to 
more  than  285,000,  showing  that  much  of  the  extraordinary 
growth  of  the  church  is  attributable  to  this  mighty  agency.  The 
Union  has  four  periodicals  for  "teachers  and  scholars,"  two  in 
English  and  two  in  German,  and  their  aggregate  circulation  is 
nearly  300,000  per  number.  Its  catalogue  of  Sunday  school 
books  comprises  more  than  2,300  different  works,  of  which  more 
than  a  million  copies  are  issued  annually.  Including  other  issues, 
it  has  nearly  2,500  publications  adapted  to  the  use  of  its  schools. 
In  fine,  few,  if  any,  institutions  of  American  Methodism  wield  a 
mightier  power  than  its  Sunday  School  Union.41 

A  comparison  of  twenty-one  years,  1847- 1867,  inclusive, 
shows,  as  far  as  figures  can,  the  record  of  this  important  move- 
ment during  this  period.42  Of  special  interest  is  the  very  small 
increase  in  the  number  of  schools  in  1848  and  1856  and  for  the 
period  of  five  years  beginning  with  1861  (1862  and  1863  register 
a  very  marked  decrease).  Some  of  the  rapid  increase,  such  as 
that  of  the  years  1850  and  1858,  and  the  large  enrollment  in 
1859  and  i860,  in  the  number  of  officers  and  teachers  can  hardly 
be  accounted  for.  The  period  covered  by  the  Civil  War  shows  in 
every  detail  the  upheaval  of  society. 

Increase  in  Ten  Years 


Officers  and 

Total  Expenses 

Schools 

Teachers 

Scholars 

of  Schools 

Increa 

ise  in  1847 

457 

4.056 

19,600 

$34,900 

" 

1848 

190 

5,n8 

16,802 

46,843 

ti 

1849 

576 

3,610 

35,201 

48,079 

M 

1850 

687 

10,966 

37.356 

54,587 

M 

1851 

685 

8,721 

43,722 

66,124 

M 

1852 

368 

4.470 

3L368 

69,094 

M 

1853 

364 

4,701 

20,329 

83,965 

« 

1854 

470 

4,917 

28,057 

95.690 

M 

1855 

56i 

5,5io 

26,061 

102,485 

« 

1856 
Total 

131 
4.489 

1,160 

24.987 

99,6i4 

53,229 

283.483 

$701,381 

"Stevens,  Abel:  A  Compendious  History  of  American  Methodism,  pp. 
536,  537- 

"Annual  Report  for  1867,  pp.  10,  IX. 
92 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


Increase 

of 

Total  Conversions 

Church  Membership 

Increase  in 

1847 

4,188 

dec. 

" 

1848 

8,240 

7,5o8 

II 

1849 

9,014 

23,249 

« 

1850 

n,398 

27,367 

« 

1851 
1852 

14,557 
13,243 

32,122 
6,896 

<> 

1853 

16,916 

3,937 

II 

1854 

17,494 

30,732 

II 

Total 

1855 
1856 

] 

17,443 
i6,77S 
[29,268 

16,073 
896 

148,780 

Increase 

in  Eleven  Years 

Officers  and 

Schools 

Teachers 

Scholars 

Increase 

in 

i857 
1858 

629 
605 

6,102 
10,923 

35,007 
56,182 

it 

1859 

975 

c 

>,i83 

51,846 

« 

i860 

638 

8,105 

60,840 

" 

1861 

153 

:,073 

18,251 

" 

1862 

dec.  293 

dec.  1 

,889 

dec.  9,306 

" 

1863 

dec.  219 

766 

24,773 

" 

1864 

125 

995 

19,778 

« 

1865 

152 

3,462 

53,103 

11 

1866 

481 

8,961 

66,199 

M 

or 

1867 
21  years 

1,446 
9,181 

9,695 
111,605 

102,739 

Totals  f 

762,895 

Total  Expenses 

Total 

Increase  of 

c 

if  Schools 

Conversions 

Church  Membership 

Increase 

in 

1857 
1858 

$H5,559 
107,786 

14,669 
32,315 

20,192 
136,036 

« 

1859 
i860 
1861 

128,412 
127,789 
139.578 

20,580 
19,517 
17,498 

17,790 

20,102 

dec. 

" 

1862 

128,147 

12,828 

dec. 

«« 

1863 

168,695 

20,233 

dec. 

« 

1864 

216,466 

18,892 

4,926 

« 

1865 

285,829 

25,122 

939 

a 

1866 

371,130 

44,144 

102,925 

u 

foi 

1867 
•  21  years  $: 

384,298 
2,875,070 

31,270 

113,897 

"Totals 

386,336 

498,534 

43A  comparison  is  possible  based  on  the  Statistical  Report  of  Sabbath 
schools  in  Cook  County,  Illinois,  May,  1867. 

93 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  year  1867  closed  with  the  following  enrollments: 
Schools,  15,292;  officers  and  teachers,  171,695;  scholars,  1,083,- 
525;  conversions,  31,27c.44 

A  glimpse  of  one  of  the  oldest  groups  of  Sunday 
schools  gives  us  some  knowledge  of  their  organization  at  that 
time: 

There  are  fifteen  Sabbath  schools  and  six  mission  Sabbath 
schools  working  under  the  charge  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Churches  of  the  Washington  District.  The  oldest  of  these  is  the 
"Dunbarton-Street,"  Georgetown,  established,  in  1819.  In  these 
schools  there  are  enrolled  106  officers,  367  teachers,  377  Bible 
class  scholars,  871  infant  class  scholars,  and  2,134  scholars  in 
what  may  be  called,  for  distinction,  the  main  school,  and  650 
officers,  teachers,  and  scholars  in  the  mission  schools,  making  a 
total  of  4,353  officers  and  scholars  enrolled  on  our  Sunday  school 
books.  The  average  attendance  since  the  first  Sunday  in  January 
last  has  been  2,508,  or  three  fifths  of  the  whole  number.  .  .  . 
The  total  number  of  conversions  of  scholars  during  the  past  year 
is  145,  the  largest  number  being  in  Dunbarton-Street,  George- 
town, namely  32.  .  .  .  Nine  schools  have  regular  class  or 
prayer  meetings  for  their  special  benefits.    .     .     . 

In  eight  of  our  schools  morning  and  afternoon  sessions  are 
held.  Twelve  schools  have  missionary  societies  under  their 
charge  and  four  have  temperance  societies.  One  school  has  a 
scholar's  aid  society.  .  .  .  Four  of  our  schools  report  that  the 
rooms  they  occupy  are  not  at  all  well  adapted  to  Sabbath  school 
purposes,  and  three  report  that  their  rooms  are  only  tolerably 
well  adapted  to  the  purpose.    The  others  possess  rooms  that  are, 


Seventeen  denominations  reported.  The  Methodists  led  in  the  number 
of  schools  (22),  and  were  second  to  the  Presbyterians  in  the  number  of 
officers  and  teachers  (620),  and  were  second  to  the  Baptists  and  Presbyterians 
in  the  number  of  scholars,  the  Baptists  having  the  highest,  6,269;  and  the 
Methodists,  4,968.  The  Methodists  led  in  the  volumes  in  libraries,  reporting 
6,954.  They  reported  hopeful  conversions  266,  and  were  second  to  the  Bap- 
tists, who  gave  387. 

The  Methodists'  benevolent  contributions  led,  with  $2,389.60,  but  were 
second  in  the  moneys  expended  for  Sunday  schools,  aggregating  $16,114.85 
over  against  the  Baptists,  aggregating  $24,395.20  (Sunday  School  Teacher, 
July,  1867,  p.  223). 

"Annual  Report  for  1867,  pp.  9,  11. 

94 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

perhaps,  without  their  equals  anywhere  for  comfort  and  conven- 
ience.45 

In  studying  these  years  of  great  prosperity,  especially  in  the 
department  of  literature,  it  must  be  emphasized  that  Dr.  Daniel 
Wise,  that  prolific  writer  and  efficient  editor,  became  the  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  Union  in  1856.46  The  catalogue  of 
the  Book  Concern  listed  thirty-four  volumes  written  by  him.47 

With  all  the  success  of  this  period  it  was  the  most  trying 
series  of  years  in  the  history  of  the  movement.  The  Sunday 
School  Reports  evidence  three  experiences  of  great  moment  in 
the  world's  history,  having  direct  influence  upon  the  Sunday 
school  work  and  plans.  The  reports  will  set  forth  the  problems 
and  the  temper  of  the  men  who  faced  them.    The  first  is  of  1848 : 

Another  year  has  closed.  It  has  been  a  year  distinguished 
in  the  world's  history  for  changes  the  most  unlooked  for  and 
eventful. 

Since  1848  commenced,  revolution  following  revolution  has 
agitated  Europe.  France  has  become  a  republic.  Prussia  and 
Austria  have  been  convulsed  by  the  struggle  for  popular  right. 
England  has  been  threatened  by  another  Irish  revolution,  and, 
last  of  all,  the  pope  of  Rome  has  become  a  refugee,  and  the  Italian 
people,  so  long  downtrodden  and  oppressed  by  the  papacy,  are 
trying  the  experiment  of  governing  themselves. 

All  these  events  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  destiny 
of  our  own  country.  When  Europe  is  agitated,  America  becomes 
the  asylum  to  which  thousands  flee  for  refuge  and  protection. 
Emigration  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New  has  been  rapid  for 
years  past.    It  is  now  likely  to  be  more  rapid  than  ever  before. 

Herein  particularly  may  be  seen  the  importance  of  the  Sab- 
bath school  enterprise,  in  the  economy  of  God's  providence,  and 
also  the  important  relation  we  sustain  to  it. 

45Sunday  School  Journal,  December,  1869,  pp.  70,  71  ("Methodist  Epis- 
copal Sunday  Schools  in  the  District  of  Columbia"). 

46The  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Managers  (December  21,  1898),  speak 
this  eulogy  upon  the  recently  deceased  (December  19)  : 

"He  exercised  a  power  surpassed  by  few  men  of  his  time.  We  recall 
with  pleasure  the  memory  of  his  blameless  life,  his  genial,  kindly  and  sym- 
pathetic nature,  and  his  high  ideals  of  character." 

"Annual  Report  for  1900,  p.  10. 

95 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  America  are  the  only 
two  countries  of  the  world  where  Sabbath  schools  prevail,  and 
where  anything  like  extensive  and  systematic  agencies  are  in 
action  for  instructing  the  young  in  the  Word  and  fear  of  God. 
Great  Britain  is  filled  with  population,  and  receives  no  accessions 
from  abroad.  Our  territories,  immensely  enlarged  by  the  acces- 
sion of  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  California,  stretch  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  through  22  degrees  of  latitude,  and  60  of 
longitude ;  and  having  3,000  miles  of  coast  upon  one  ocean,  and 
nearly  half  that  number  in  a  right  line  upon  the  other. 

The  movements  of  the  times  indicate  that  this  vast  area, 
central  as  it  is  between  Europe  and  Asia,  is  to  be  rapidly  filled  up 
by  the  expansion  of  our  own  population,  and  the  influx  of  foreign 
emigrants.  If  it  is  to  be  filled  with  a  people  who,  notwithstanding 
the  intelligence  of  the  times,  know  not  God,  and  read  not  his 
Word,  better  were  it  that  America  had  never  been  discovered,  and 
that  the  Old  World  should  retain  its  population. 

But  we  hope  better  things — things  which  promise  the  salva- 
tion of  millions,  and  which  foreshadow  the  world's  redemption.48 

Following  upon  the  very  heels  of  war  came  pestilence. 
What  a  message  of  awe  and  what  a  challenge  it  brought ! 

In  reviewing  the  year  that  has  just  terminated  we  find  occa- 
sion for  the  most  devout  gratitude  to  Almighty  God. 

Our  country,  in  common  with  other  nations  of  the  earth, 
has  been  smitten  with  a  wasting  pestilence.  Thousands  have 
been  hurried  by  the  cholera  to  the  grave.    .    .    . 

We  are  called  upon  by  this  signal  Providence,  to  devote  our- 
selves renewedly  and  more  sacredly  to  the  service  of  God. 

While  the  Almighty  is  speaking  to  the  nations  in  the  voice 
of  alarming  judgments,  it  is  no  time  for  the  church  to  be  inatten- 
tive, or  for  individual  Christians  to  seek  spiritual  ease. 

While  the  events  of  the  world  are  moving  onward  with  start- 
ling rapidity,  and  with  results  that  could  not  be  anticipated,  it  be- 
comes Christians  to  let  their  influence  be  felt  on  the  side  of  Him 
who  has  the  right  to  rule  all  events  and  all  hearts. 

As  generation  succeeds  generation  it  becomes  more  and  more 
apparent  that  if  men  are  to  l3e  saved  by  the  power  of  truth  and 
grace,  they  must  be  the  subjects  of  Christian  faith  and  labor 
while  young.     As  the  masses  of  the  Old  World  continue  to  pour 

'"Annual  Report  for  1848,  pp.  17,  18. 
96 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

in  upon  our  country,  and  as  the  vast  extent  of  our  Union  con- 
tinues rapidly  to  fill  up  with  population,  the  institution  of  Sunday 
schools  appears  more  and  more  important.  It  is  the  moral  hope 
of  the  rising  generation.49 

But  the  experience  that  broke  the  heart  and  humbled  the 
spirit  was  of  America's  own  making — brother  at  war  against 
brother.  The  reaction  of  those  in  charge  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union  may  be  easily  discerned  in  quotations  from  three  of  the 
Annual  Reports. 

The  future  is  always  vailed  to  human  eyes.  Yet  the  shadows 
of  coming  events  may  at  times  be  seen  falling  on  the  present.  But 
who  can  catch  a  glimpse  of  to-morrow  in  this  dark  night  of  our 
national  misfortune?  Impenetrable  mists  surround  us,  and  we 
can  do  little  but  sigh,  pray,  and  trust  in  God.  But  come  what 
will,  we  must  stand  by  the  institution  which  cares  for  the  children. 
We  must  hasten  to  the  rescue  of  our  Sunday  school  interests. 
Our  schools,  our  periodicals,  our  publications,  our  Sunday  school 
Union  must  be  sustained.  To  neglect  these  would  be  to  entail  still 
darker  days  than  the  present  upon  coming  generations.  This 
must  not  be.  By  the  grace  of  God  it  shall  not  be.  The  children 
shall  be  cared  for  in  spite  of  war,  waste,  hard  times,  or  any  other 
evil  that  may  prey  upon  this  generation.  May  the  Lover  of 
little  children  cause  this  resolution  to  be  the  voice  of  the  church, 
the  watchword  of  all  her  ministers  !50 

The  past  year  has  been,  to  adopt  the  language  of  the  prophet 
Joel,  "a  day  of  darkness  and  of  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and 
of  thick  darkness,  as  the  morning  spread  upon  the  mountains." 
The  evil  influences  of  the  slaveholders'  great  rebellion  have  been 
felt  in  every  city  and  hamlet,  in  very  church  and  Sunday  school 
throughout  the  republic.  The  mustering  of  mighty  hosts  for 
battle  has  robbed  our  churches  of  many  strong  and  beautiful 
pillars,  and  our  Sunday  schools  of  many  valuable  officers  and  effi- 
cient teachers.  Moreover,  war  has  marched,  with  fear  and 
devastation  in  its  train,  along  the  borders  of  our  work.  Would  it 
be  wonderful  if,  under  these  appalling  circumstances,  our  cause 
had  waned  into  feebleness  or  fallen  into  disorganization? 

But,  thanks  be  to  God !  it  has  neither  seriously  diminished 


"Annual  Report  for  1849,  pp.  27,  : 
"Ibid.,  for  1861,  pp.  35,  36. 

97 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

nor  shown  any  alarming  signs  of  decay.  True,  it  has  halted  in 
its  grand  march ;  it  has  suffered  some  diminution ;  it  has  lost  some 
of  its  choice  supports  by  the  stroke  of  the  sword;  but  it  still  stands 
vitally  uninjured.  It  has  not  suffered  as  some  of  its  friends 
feared  it  might.  It  is  still  a  living,  strong,  and  healthy  institution 
— a  tree  bowed  but  not  broken  by  the  storm.  Nor  are  evidences 
lacking  of  the  Divine  favor.  Heavenly  benedictions  drop  upon 
it  like  dew,  securing  for  it  the  good  will  of  the  church,  and  mak- 
ing it  the  instrument  of  bringing  thousands  of  little  ones  to 
Christ.  Seeing  it  thus  enfolded  in  the  arms  of  Jehovah,  and 
cherished  in  the  bosom  of  the  church,  who  can  despair  of  its 
future?"  51 

But  the  war  is  advancing  slowly,  it  may  be,  yet  surely  toward 
its  consummation.  Before  the  present  year  declines,  we  trust. 
by  the  blessing  of  Jehovah,  to  see  this  fratricidal  strife  termin- 
ated, the  authority  of  the  Union  reestablished,  freedom  made  tri- 
umphant, and  the  whole  land  thrown  open  to  Christian  enterprise. 
When  that  desired  hour  arrives  the  resources  of  this  society  will 
be  taxed  to  their  utmost.  The  moral  wastes  caused  by  the  war 
along  our  border,  from  Virginia  to  Kansas,  will  need  to  be  re- 
paired. The  Southern  States  now  and  to  be  traversed  by  our 
armies,  will  then  be  trodden  by  our  missionaries,  and  millions  of 
ignorant  freedmen  will  be  accessible  to  the  religious  teacher. 
Then,  if  ever,  and  there,  if  anywhere,  the  benevolent  aids  of  our 
society  will  be  required.  War  being  both  a  devastator  and  an 
impoverisher,  will  deprive  the  people  of  the  now  revolted  States 
of  the  means  necessary  for  the  reopening  of  their  Sunday  schools. 
Millions  of  books  must  be  gratuitously  scattered  among  them,  or 
their  children  will  grow  up  unblessed  by  Sunday  school  instruc- 
tion. Shall  we  give  them  the  books?  Let  every  pastor  and 
church  in  the  connection  answer  this  question  by  liberal  collec- 
tions for  our  treasury.  Thus  shall  we  bless  those  who  by  re- 
bellion and  war  have  loaded  themselves  with  many  sorrows,  ami 
aid  in  making  our  beloved  country,  both  North  and  South,  to  be- 
come the  garden  of  the  Lord.52 

The  question  of  slavery  was  a  discordant  element  even  after 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  The  Sunday 
school  papers  brought  to  themselves  much  criticism  and  many 


"Annual  Report,  for  1862,  p.  8. 
"Ibid.,  pi).   13,   14- 

98 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

protests  for  their  anti-slavery  attitude  and  agitation,  as  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  attest : 

Resolved,  That  we  cordially  approve  of  the  course  pursued 
by  the  editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  on  the  subject  of 
slavery,  as  evincing  personal  fidelity  to  truth  and  a  just  regard 
to  the  responsibility  of  our  denomination  in  the  right  moral  train- 
ing of  the  youth  of  our  church53  (Troy  Conference). 

Resolved,  That  the  course  of  the  Sunday  School  Advo- 
cate, touching  the  subject  of  slavery,  should  not  give  offense  to 
any  Methodist,  and  will  not  to  any  truly  anti-slavery  man;  and 
that  we  will  make  immediate  and  earnest  efforts  to  increase 
greatly  its  circulation ;  and  that  we  will  labor  to  diffuse  among 
the  children  and  youth  of  our  church  and  country  a  thorough 
anti-slavery  literature^  (Wyoming  Conference). 

Resolved,  That  we  regret  that  our  Sunday  School  Advocate 
should  have  been  in  any  way  perverted  from  the  prosecution  of 
its  appropriate  object,  to  issues  upon  which  there  is  not  unanimity 
of  sentiment  in  the  church,  and  with  this  exception  we  commend 
it  to  the  patronage  of  our  people55  (Philadelphia  Conference). 

We  are  sorry  that  the  Sunday  School  Advocate  does  not 
meet  with  universal  favor,  and  that  a  sister  Conference  proposes 
to  publish  another  child's  paper.  While  we  would  have  nothing 
offensive  to  any  part  of  our  church  obtruded  into  its  columns, 
yet  we  cannot  but  believe  that  it  is  eminently  proper  to  inculcate 
into  the  minds  of  our  children  those  great  principles  of  humanity 
so  fondly  cherished  by  our  fathers  and  so  clearly  expressed  in  our 
Discipline. 

We  therefore  earnestly  commend  the  Sunday  School  Advo- 
cate to  the  increased  patronage  of  our  people,  and  pledge  our- 
selves to  extra  exertions  to  extend  its  circulation56  (Providence 
Conference). 

§  3.    Two  Decades  of  New  Methods,   1868- 1888. 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Vincent,  who  had  been  made  general 
agent  of  the  Sunday  School  Union,  came  to  the  corresponding 


53Ibid.,  for  1858,  p.  32. 
"Ibid.,  p.  34. 
55Ibid.,  for  1861,  p.  16. 
E0Ibid.,  p.  17. 

99 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

secretaryship  in  1868  and  to  the  superintendency  of  the  "Depart- 
ment of  Sunday  School  Instruction"  newly  created.  He,  "the 
prophet  of  teacher  training,"  the  peerless  leader  in  organized, 
pedagogical,  religious  education,  brought  with  him  to  the  task 
years  of  experience  as  pastor,  Sunday  school  worker,  and 
editor  in  the  Middle  West.  The  new  system  of  Sunday  school 
work,  with  institutes,  uniform  lessons,  normal  classes,  etc.,  began 
with  his  coming  into  leadership. 

These  years  were  filled  with  powerful  advanced  movements 
in  the  general  Sunday  school  world,  as  the  record  hereinafter 
will  show.  They  were  the  birth  years  of  the  Lesson  Leaves 
( 1865)  ;  a  mass  institute  movement;  a  long  line  of  printed  helps, 
manuals,  magazines,  teachers'  journals;  normal  departments  and 
colleges;  the  Biblical  Museum  (1869);  the  Chautauqua  move- 
ment (1874) ;  the  Uniform  Lesson  system  (1872). 

The  question  soon  arose  as  to  whether  the  new  methods 
would  mean  a  lessening  of  spiritual  results,  namely  the  conver- 
sion of  the  pupils.  After  ten  years  of  trial  the  following  com- 
parisons were  published  by  the  Union,  covering  the  years  1846 
to  1867  and  1868  to  1878.5' 

For  twenty-two  years  previous  to  that  [1868],  namely,  from 
1846  to  1867,  the  average  number  of  Sunday  school  scholars  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  each  year  was  649,720 ;  the  aver- 
age number  of  conversions  during  the  same  time  was  17.679,  or 
about  one  in  36^,  or  2^4  per  cent.  The  average  increase  in  the 
number  of  scholars  during  that  period  was  36,328,  and  of  church 
members  23,740.  The  average  number  of  conversions  was 
18,650  less  than  the  average  increase  of  scholars,  and  6,062  less 
than  the  average  increase  of  church  members. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  average  number  of  scholars  each 
year  for  the  eleven  years  from  1868  to  1878,  inclusive,  was 
[,328,019.  The  average  number  of  conversions  during  the  same 
time  was  67,262,  or  about  one  in  ig$i,  or  not  far  from  five  per 
cent.  The  average  increase  of  scholars  during  the  same  time  was 
38,892,  and  the  average  increase  of  church  members,  47.-70. 
The  average  number  of  conversions  was  28,370  wore  than  the 


'Annual  Report  for  [878,  p.  15. 

100 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

average  increase  of  scholars,  and  19,992  more  than  the  average 
increase  of  church  members.  Further,  in  the  ratio  of  the  first 
period  (one  in  36^4)  the  average  number  of  conversions  would 
have  been,  each  year  during  the  second  period,  36,136,  whereas 
the  actual  average  is  an  increase  of  31,126  over  this,  namely, 
67,262,  or  an  advance  of  over  86  per  cent.58 

February  4,  1852,  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  had 
been  incorporated  in  the  State  of  New  York  and  April  11,  1874, 
the  charter  was  changed  so  that  henceforward  the  General  Con- 
ference could  appoint  the  Board  of  Managers  rather  than  their 
being  chosen  by  the  Association  which  was  composed  of  persons 
who  had  paid  a  certain  sum  each. 

The  Centenary  (1880)  of  the  founding  of  the  Sunday 
School  recorded  the  following  statistics  for  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church:59 

20,835  Schools. 

221,545  Officers  and  Teachers. 

1,595,900  Scholars  of  all  ages. 

547,040  Scholars  over  15  years  of  age. 

473,611  Scholars  under  15  years  of  age,  except  infant 

class. 

304,350  Infant  Scholars. 

1,018,094  Average  attendance. 

1,780,691  Volumes  in  Library. 

$531,611.69  Expenses  of  schools. 

$17,693.19  For  Sunday  School  Union. 

180,091  Officers  and  Teachers  who  are  Members  or 

Probationers. 

301,065  Scholars  who  are  Members  or  Probationers. 

75,363  Conversions. 


58"From  the  year  1845  to  1890,  44,000  conversions  are  reported  from  our 
German  schools  in  the  United  States  alone,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  since 
the  introduction  of  the  well-known  new  methods  the  conversions  in  our 
German  schools  are  not  decreasing,  as  some  have  supposed,  but  are  50  per 
cent  ahead  of  the  good  old  times"  (Dr.  H.  Liebhart,  German  Assistant  Sec- 
retary, at  Anniversary.    Annual  Report  for  1890,  p.  7). 

'"Annual  Report  for  1880,  p.  15.  Beginning  with  1870  the  statistical 
reports  included  the  items  on  church  membership. 

101 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  work  of  reorganization  of  methods  demands  a  separate 
chapter,  a  chapter  given  to  the  telling  of  the  story  of  the  search 
for  efficiency. 

§  4.  Two  Decades  of  the  Emphasis  of  the  Normal  Sunday 
School  and  the  Agitation  of  Religious  Education, 
1 888- 1 908 

This  period,  like  the  two  previous  ones,  can  best  be  char- 
acterized by  mentioning  the  names  of  the  leaders  that  crystallized 
for  Methodism  the  forward  movements  of  the  day  by  applying 
them  to  Sunday  school  work.  By  the  election  of  General  Con- 
ference Dr.  Kidder  (1844-1856)  and  Dr.  Wise  (1856-1868)  had 
passed  on  the  leadership  to  Dr.  Vincent  (1868- 1888),  and  he  in 
turn  committed  it  to  Dr.  Hurlbut  (1888-1900).  What  a  quar- 
tette of  master  workmen !  Dr.  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  Dr.  Vincent  for  ten  years  in  Sunday  school  work,  and 
now,  upon  the  latter's  election  to  the  episcopacy,  in  1888,  became 
heir  to  the  heavy  responsibility  of  the  corresponding  secretary- 
ship of  the  Union.  And  a  champion  he  was !  Long  will  his  name 
live  as  the  agitator  of  normal  training.  He  created  an  impera- 
tive demand  for  a  literature  on  Bible  and  normal  courses  of 
study. 

A  good  year  for  estimating  the  condition  of  the  Sunday 
school  was  1890.  This  was  an  historic  year,  the  Jubilee  Anni- 
versary of  the  reorganization  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Union.    The  statistics  run  as  follows : 

26,919  Schools. 
296,785  Officers  and  Teachers. 
2,313,644  Scholars. 
269,520  Officers  and  Teachers  Members  or  Probation- 
ers. 
651,771   Scholars  Members  or  Probationers. 
103,841   Conversions. 
370,112,680  Pages   of    Sunday    School    Periodical    Litera- 
ture.00 


"Annual  Report  for  1890,  pp.  76,  77,  40,  41. 
102 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Compared  with  the  record  of  1880,  the  gain  in  ten  years  shows  a 
most  gratifying  advance.  But  the  financial  report  of  the  work 
of  the  Sunday  School  Union  showed  that  although  the  local  work 
was  progressing  well,  the  church  was  not  generally  supporting  the 
efforts  of  the  Union:  3,505  charges  out  of  12,530  gave  nothing; 
the  general  average  was  $1.88  and  the  general  average  contribu- 
tion per  member  was  one  cent  and  one  mill.61  The  work  among 
foreigners  in  America  that  historic  year  shows  1,123  schools, 
12,626  officers  and  teachers,  and  67,139  scholars.  Over  three 
fourths  of  these  schools  were  among  Germans,  but  the  list  in- 
cludes62 Swedes,  Norwegians,  Danes,  Bohemians  and  Italians 
with  mention  of  a  few  French  schools  not  counted.63 
In  foreign  lands  the  enrollment  was64 

Schools  Scholars 

Norway    59  5,014 

Sweden    205  15,504 

Finland   10  606 

Denmark    28  2,787 

Germany    286  11,322 

Switzerland    192  13,773 

Italy    21  436 

Bulgaria    9  216 

China    155  4,713 

India    888  36,119 

Japan    80  4,022 

Africa    41  2,614 

Mexico    41  1,510 

South   America 37  2,113 

2,052  100,749 

It  is  important  to  note  how  Methodist  Sunday  school  work 
compared  with  that  of  other  denominations  at  this  time.  The 
International  Sunday  School  Convention,  June  24-27,  1890,  re- 
ported for  the  United  States  105,894  schools,  1,120,433  officers 

S1lbid.,  p.  38. 

62The  report  of  the  following  year  added  Chinese  and  Japanese,  with 
seven  schools. 

63Annual  Report  for  1890,  p.  34. 
S4Ibid.,  p.  33. 

103 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

and  teachers,  8,598,851  scholars.65  Deducting  from  the  enroll- 
ments of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  as  given  on  page 
102  the  numbers  of  schools  and  scholars  in  foreign  lands,  there 
remain  24,867  schools  and  2,212,895  scholars  as  the  enrollment 
in  the  United  States.  This  gives  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  1890  almost  one  fourth  of  all  the  Sunday  schools  and 
over  one  fourth  of  all  the  scholars. 

The  first  quadrennium  of  this  period,  1888-1892,  showed 
an  increase  of  3,268  schools,  320,538  scholars,  and  46,406  conver- 
sions. 

Two  special  movements  should  be  noted  as  having  direct 
relationship  to  the  work  of  this  quadrennium.  The  Epworth 
League  was  organized  in  1889.  In  1884  Vincent  had  instituted 
the  Oxford  League,  and  over  this  the  Sunday  School  Union  had 
a  general  supervision.  In  May,  1889,  a  delegated  convention 
representing  five  young  people's  organizations  met  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  formed  the  Epworth  League,  "designed  to  embrace 
all  our  young  people,  and  to  promote  in  them  a  spiritual,  intelli- 
gent, loyal  and  working  Christian  character."  In  1892  there 
were  reported  nearly  8,000  chapters  and  more  than  400,000  mem- 
bers.66 

The  Rindge  Fund  of  $25,000  was  given  in  1891  to  be  used 
to  help  new  schools  in  America.  This  was  carefully  administered 
and  proved  a  great  blessing  to  many  struggling  communities. 
At  the  end  of  seven  years  the  partial  report  printed  gave  the 
following  :67 

23,061  scholars  brought  into  Sunday  Schools. 

148  new  churches  organized  from  the  new  schools. 
118  church  buildings  erected  by  these  churches. 

The  condition  of  the  Sunday  school  continued  to  be  gratify- 
ing in  many  respects.  The  average  attendance  of  teachers  and 
scholars  in  1903  was  55.4  per  cent,  over  against  54.7  per  cent  in 
1887,  and  yet  with  all  the  faithful,  consecrated  Sunday  school 

'Sunday  School  Journal,  1890,  p.  323. 
'"Annual  Report  for  1892,  p.  42. 
"Ibid.,   1898,  p.  36. 

104 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

work  during  the  years  from  1888  to  1908,  there  was  a  sense  of 
failure  and  disappointment  with  the  plan  of  organization.  It 
was  a  time  of  great  advance  in  pedagogy  and  psychology  for  the 
secular  educator,  and  the  Sunday  school  teacher  was  ill  at  ease 
under  the  very  apparent  contrasts.  School  organization  and  new 
methods  challenged  the  religious  educator.  One  said  of  his  day, 
"The  Sunday  school  has  no  system  of  promotions,  no  training 
school  for  teachers,  and  no  course  of  study."  68 

In  connection  with  the  Anniversary  occasions  institutes  were 
held  for  several  days.  These  discussed  the  problems  pressing 
upon  the  workers.  In  1894  the  institute  had  the  caption,  "Fault- 
finders' Convention — A  Conference  on  the  Sunday  School  as  It 
Is  and  as  It  Ought  to  Be."  In  1902  the  "People's  Bible  Institute" 
was  inaugurated,  a  movement  in  teacher  training  during  school 
sessions.  It  appears  to  have  had  little  result.  A  course  of  Top- 
ical Lessons  for  the  Sunday  school  additional  to  the  International 
Lessons  was  gotten  out  in  1904.69 

Instead  of  masterfully  taking  hold  of  the  Sunday  school  sit- 
uation the  General  Conference  of  1904  in  its  effort  to  unify 
benevolences  ordered  the  consolidation  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, Freedmen's  Aid  and  Sunday  School  Union  under  the  title 
of  "The  Board  of  Education,  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Sunday 
Schools,"  which,  however,  was  not  effected  until  January,  1907.70 
This  union  was  of  no  advantage,  and  at  its  next  session,  1908,  the 
General  Conference  again  separated  them  and  created  the  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools.  A  corresponding  secretary,  Dr.  David  G. 
Downey,  was  elected  to  have  full  charge  of  the  administrative, 
educational,  and  missionary  work  of  the  Board.  Dr.  John  T. 
McFarland,  the  former  corresponding  secretary,  was  elected 
editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications,  to  give  his  entire  time  to 
the  development  of  Sunday  school  periodicals  and  lesson  helps. 

68"The  Sunday  School  Graded  System,"  Sunday  School  Journal,  1890, 
p.  169.  (In  i860  the  Sunday  School  Journal  was  begun  for  the  purpose  of 
stressing  Bible  training  and  the  best  methods  of  teaching.) 

""Annual  Report. 

70Ibid..  1007. 

105 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  V 

PRINCIPLES  AND  METHODS  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 
INSTRUCTION,  1840-1908 

§   1.    The  Child  and  Its  Religious  Experience 

The  understanding  of  the  characteristics  of  the  period  is  de- 
pendent upon  the  appreciation  of  the  conception  of  the  child  held 
by  the  church  and  the  religious  educators  of  the  times. 

The  Methodist  Church  had  a  very  definite  belief  as  to  the 
character  and  state  of  the  child.  Its  creed  was  quoted  from 
the  Discipline  in  the  Report  of  the  Sunday  School  Union,  for  the 
instruction  and  encouragement  of  Sunday  school  workers.1 

Of  Baptized  Children. 

Quest.  1.    Are  all  young  children  entitled  to  baptism? 

Ans.  We  hold  that  all  children,  by  virtue  of  the  uncondi- 
tional benefits  of  the  atonement,  are  members  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and,  therefore,  graciously  entitled  to  baptism;  but  as  infant 
baptism  contemplates  a  course  of  religious  instruction  and  dis- 
cipline, it  is  expected  of  all  parents  or  guardians  who  present  their 
children  for  baptism,  that  they  use  all  diligence  in  bringing  them 
up  in  conformity  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  they  should  be 
solemnly  admonished  of  this  obligation,  and  earnestly  exhorted 
to  faithfulness  therein. 

Quest.  2.  What  is  the  relation  of  baptized  children  to  the 
Church  ? 

Ans.  We  regard  all  children  who  have  been  baptized,  as 
placed  in  visible  covenant  relation  to  God.  and  under  the  special 
care  and  supervision  of  the  Church. 

Quest.  3.  What  shall  be  done  for  the  baptized  children  of 
our  Church? 

Ans.  1.  The  preacher  in  charge  shall  preserve  a  full  and 
accurate  register  of  the  names  of  all  the  baptized  children  within 

'Annual  Report  for  1856,  pp.  92,  93. 
106 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

his  pastoral  care;  the  dates  of  their  birth,  baptism,  their  parent1 
age,  and  places  of  residence. 

Ans.  2.  As  early  as  they  shall  be  able  to  understand,  let 
them  be  taught  the  nature,  design,  and  obligations  of  their  bap- 
tism, and  the  truths  of  religion  necessary  to  make  them  wise  unto 
salvation;  let  them  be  encouraged  to  attend  class,  and  to  give 
regular  attendance  upon  all  the  means  of  grace,  according  to  their 
age,  capacity,  and  religious  experience. 

Ans.  3.  Whenever  they  shall  have  attained  an  age  sufficient 
to  understand  the  obligations  of  religion,  and  shall  give  evidence 
of  a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  to  be  saved  from 
their  sins,  their  names  shall  be  enrolled  in  the  list  of  probationers ; 
and  if  they  shall  continue  to  give  evidence  of  a  principle  and  habit 
of  piety,  they  may  be  admitted  into  full  membership  in  our 
Church,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  leader  with  whom  they  have 
met  at  least  six  months  in  class,  by  publicly' assenting  before  the 
Church  to  the  baptismal  covenant,  and  also  the  usual  questions  on 
doctrines  and  discipline. 

Ans.  4.  Whenever  a  baptized  child  shall  by  orphanage,  or 
otherwise,  become  deprived  of  Christian  guardianship,  the 
preacher  in  charge  shall  ascertain  and  report  to  the  leaders'  meet- 
ing the  facts  in  the  case ;  and  such  provision  shall  be  made  for  the 
Christian  training  of  the  child,  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
admit  and  require  (Part  I,  ch.  ii,  par.  3.  Discipline). 

At  the  close  of  the  above  quotation  the  Report  adds : 

If  conscientiously  carried  out,  these  rules  can  but  lead  to 
richer  harvests  of  conversions  among  the  children.  We  hope 
their  influence  will  be  to  hasten  that  happy  epoch  in  which  Chris- 
tian parents  and  the  Church  will  so  train  the  young  that,  through 
the  grace  of  God,  they  will  grow  up  into  Christ  from  early  in- 
fancy, and  in  which  that  ancient  prediction  of  the  evangelical 
prophet  will  be  literally  fulfilled,  which  says,  "All  thy  children 
shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord,  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy 
children." 

Naturally,  the  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  teaching  of  the 
catechism.  The  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Sun- 
day School  Union  November  29,  1842,  contain  this  motion: 

That  those  of  our  Sunday  Schools  who  do  not  already  use 
them  be  earnestly  recommended  to  introduce  the  Wesleyan  Cate- 
chisms, or  the  Scripture  Catechisms,  into  their  regular  course  of 
instruction. 

107 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

June  26,  1843,  tne  minutes  record  the  need  "of  a  book  for 
Sunday  schools  containing  a  statement  of  Scripture  doctrines, 
with  an  ample  collection  of  texts  in  proof  of  each." 

The  catechisms  used  until  1848,  as  compiled  by  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Church  in  England,  were  revised  and  published  as  a 
general  catechism  and  an  elementary  catechism,  the  latter  "in 
shorter  and  plainer  words,  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  young 
children.2  The  thought  of  the  day  was  that  every  scholar 
"should,  by  some  means,  be  brought  to  a  systematic  use  of  the 
Catechism."  The  most  common  method  in  the  Sunday  schools 
of  the  Methodist  Church  was  by  questions  and  responses  in  the 
opening  or  closing  exercises,  led  by  the  pastor  or  superintendent. 
Short  passages  from  the  catechism  were  printed  in  the  Berean 
Leaflets  at  the  foot  of  the  page.3 

With  these  conceptions  paramount,  the  religious  experience 
of  the  child  became  central.  The  task  of  the  Sunday  school  was 
to  lead  every  child  to  Christ,  with  the  goal  conversion.  The  fol- 
lowing sentiment  naturally  became  the  expression  of  this  under- 
lying conviction : 

Sunday  school  instruction  must  be  regarded  as  only  a  means 
to  an  end,  and  that  end  the  conversion  of  the  sold.  It  can,  there- 
fore, only  be  deemed  a  real  success  when  that  glorious  end  is  at- 
tained. Hence,  we  earnestly  call  the  attention  of  every  friend 
of  children  to  this  question,  What  can  be  done  to  make  our  Sun- 
day schools  increasingly  efficient  in  bringing  the  scholars  to  Christ 
and  into  the  church? 

If  parents,  teachers,  superintendents,  and  pastors,  would  set 
the  conversion  of  the  children  before  their  minds  as  the  grand, 
almost  sole,  object  to  be  attained  by  the  Sunday  school;  if  they 
would  aim  at  this  in  teaching;  if  they  would  earnestly  wrestle 
for  it  with  prayers  and  tears;  if  they  would  make  every  Sunday 
school  a  battle  ground  for  young  souls,  far  greater  spiritual 
triumphs  would,  doubtless,  be  achieved.4 


'Annual  Report  for  1848,  pp.  36,  37. 

"See    "The   Catechism   in    Sabbath    School,"    Sunday    School    Teacher, 
April,  1868,  p.  98. 

'Annual  Report  for  1857,  p.  73. 

108 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  Sunday  School  Teacher,  under  "The  Aims  of  the  Sunday 
School,"  gives  the  first  aim  as  "The  Conversion  of  the  Pupils." 
The  steps  to  this  are  said  to  be : 

ist.  To  bring  the  pupil  to  a  knowledge  and  sense  of  his 
need  as  a  fallen  being  with  a  sinful  soul — a  guilty  transgressor  of 
a  divine  law  and  of  a  Father's  commandment;  and,  2nd,  to  de- 
velop in  his  understanding  and  impress  upon  his  heart  the  char- 
acter and  work  of  Christ — the  suffering,  saving  love  of  Jesus ;  the 
complete  ability  and  willingness  of  this  Saviour  to  redeem,  purify, 
and  bless  him — in  short,  to  lay  the  foundations  of  an  intelligent 
faith,  and  to  awaken  the  emotions  of  an  all-controlling  love  and 
trust.5 

Thus  the  idea  prevailed  that  a  Sunday  school  class,  if  its  work 
be  well  and  truly  done,  "finds  in  every  lesson  Jesus  Christ  a*s  the 
central  truth."  It  is  not  strange  that  the  superintendents  and 
teachers  were  urged  to  "feel  that  they  have  made  a  failure  in  each 
case,  unless  the  lamb  is  led  to  Christ."  6  An  article  in  the  above- 
mentioned  magazine,  edited  by  Edward  Eggleston,  for  the  Chi- 
cago Sunday  School  Union,  frankly  states  the  method  urged : 

Finally,  manage  to  bring  Christ  into  every  lesson  .  .  . 
Whether  you  derive  the  subject  of  salvation  directly  and  log- 
ically from  your  lesson  or  not,  present  it.  In  mission  schools 
many  come  only  for  a  Sabbath.  Like  birds  of  passage,  they  must 
be  taken  on  the  wing.  One  opportunity  only  is  granted  to  tell 
them  of  Jesus,  and  you  hear  of  them  no  more  until  the  last  great 
day.  Tell  them  the  story  of  Jesus  at  least.  Save  them  if  you 
can.7 

One  of  the  Annual  Reports  gave  an  answer  to  the  question, 


"Sunday  School  Teacher,  vol.  ii.  May,  1867,  No.  v,  pp.  129,  130,  by  J. 
M.  Gregory,  LL.D. 

"Annual  Report  for  1857,  p.  15. 

7Sunday  School  Teacher,  vol.  ii,  October,  1867,  No.  x,  pp.  289-292. 
"Duties  of  the  Sunday  School  Teacher  Before  His  Class,"  John  P.  Colby. 

Compare  with  this  author's  position  that  of  Dr.  Kidder  in  "The  Sun- 
day School  Teacher's  Guide"  (1846),  p.  395.  "Every  child  who  goes  to  a 
Sunday  school  for  any  length  of  time  ought  to  carry  away  with  him  at  least 
the  elements  of  all  those  truths  essential  to  salvation." 

109 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

"What  has  the  Sabbath  school  a  right  to  claim  at  the  hand  of  the 
Church?"8  that  sets  forth  the  prevalent  conception  of  the  reli- 
gious psychology  of  childhood : 

i.  That  it  shall  have  a  hearty  faith  in  the  feasibility  of  child- 
hood conversion.  The  history  of  this  institution  affords  the  evi- 
dence. Children  can  feel.  They  can  weep  tears  of  genuine  gos- 
pel sorrow  when  they  have  transgressed  the  divine  law.  They 
can  feel  the  agony  of  conviction,  and  they  can  exercise  saving 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  But  this  must  be  ingrained  into  the  heart 
of  the  church.    Only  this  will  give  working  power.9 

An  infant  class  lesson  closed  with  these  words : 

Do  you  know  who  belong  to  Satan's  army?  (Ans.)  Say 
after  me — All  who  tell  lies;  all  who  swear  and  cheat;  all  who 
steal;  all  who  are  cruel;  all  who  do  not  love  Jesus  and  follow 
after  him. 

Oh !  I  am  very  much  afraid  some  of  these  little  children  be- 
long to  Satan's  army.     I  know  they  do  unless  they  have  given 


8Much  emphasis  has  been  put  upon  the  fact  that  Wesley  led  in  the  idea 
of  religious  education  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  following  account  is  of 
interest : 

"The  possibility  of  the  conversion  of  children  in  large  numbers,  is  a 
thought  which  God  has  been  forcing  into  the  mind  of  the  church  by  means 
of  the  Sunday  school,  from  its  origin  until  now.  Yet  the  thought  was  not 
born  with  the  institution.  Its  founder  had  no  conception  of  it.  All  Raikes 
proposed  to  do  was  to  teach  the  children  to  read,  and  give  them  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  catechism.  But  afterward  Mr.  Wesley,  that  sagacious  man,  saw 
beyond  his  compeers,  into  the  possibilities  of  this  new  institution.  It  is  a 
proud  fact  for  us  Methodists  that  he  first  introduced  into  the  Sabbath  school 
the  idea  of  making  its  instruction,  distinctively  and  exclusively  religious. 
With  him  also  originated  the  scarcely  less  valuable  idea  of  gratuitous 
teaching. 

"Yet  I  think  it  was  his  purpose  to  merely  prepare  the  minds  of  children 
for  the  subsequent  reception  of  religion,  for  in  speaking  of  one  of  his  school*, 
he  mentions  it  as  a  matter  of  surprise  that  a  young  child  had  been  converted. 
Even  his  great  mind  did  not  fully  grasp  the  idea  of  saving  a  nation  through 
the  conversion  of  its  childhood.  And  it  was  only  by  the  providence  of  God, 
causing  a  converted  child  to  crop  out  here  and  there,  that  the  church  learned 
to  regard  the  thorough  conversion  of  children  as  a  thing  to  be  looked  for  a- 
an  ordinary  sequence  of  religious  teaching,  and  not  as  an  extraordinary 
event  or  phenomenon,  whose  frequent  repetition  was  not  to  be  expected" 
(Annual  Report   for  1857,  p.  23). 

"For  1857,  p.  25. 

no 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

their  hearts  to  Jesus,  and  are  willing  to  take  their  cross  and  fol- 
low him.10 

One  of  the  teachers  in  the  infant  department  told  in  1845 
this  incident : 

A  little  boy  was  quite  unruly  in  church.  I  took  hold  of  his 
hand,  and  looking  him  in  the  face,  said,  "My  child,  you  have 
still  a  bad  heart."  He  burst  into  tears,  and  replied,  "O,  teacher, 
I  have  prayed  for  a  new  heart  every  night  and  morning,  and 
I  have  not  got  it."     He  was  encouraged  to  persevere.11 

The  Upper  Iowa  Conference  passed  a  resolution  that 

As  far  as  possible,  truly  pious  teachers  should  be  procured,  Sab- 
bath school  prayer  meetings  instituted,  and  other  means  employed 
which  may  result  in  the  conversion  of  our  children  to  God.12 

In  1848  the  Pittsburgh  Conference  jubilantly  reported: 

For  every  sum  of  $3.79  expended  on  our  Sunday  schools  in 
this  Conference  one  priceless  soul  has  been  converted! 13 

The  spirit  that  gave  this  emphasis  can  readily  be  seen  in  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Sunday  School  Convention  in  Baltimore,  May  13, 
1845.14    The  last  resolutions  were  as  follows  : 

Resolved  1 5th.  That  hence  we  regard  Sunday  school  prayer 
meetings,  and  other  direct  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  as 
of  unspeakable  importance. 

Resolved  16th.  That  in  view  of  the  past  success  of  Sunday 
schools,  and  their  direct  influence  upon  the  prosperity  of  the 
church,  and  upon  the  salvation  of  men,  we  desire  humbly  to  con- 
secrate ourselves  anew  to  this  great  work,  in  confident  hope  that 
God's  blessing  will  follow  our  labors,  and  that  his  glory  shall  be 
our  reward. 

Note. — The  last  resolution  was,  after  appropriate  addresses, 
adopted  by  a  rising  vote,  and  the  hallowed  feeling  that  pervaded 
the  assembly  on  that  impressive  occasion  will,  we  trust,  be  long 
remembered  and  enjoyed  by  all  who  participated  in  the  scene. 

With  the  Sunday  school  emphasis  upon  conversion  it  would 

10Sunday  School  Teacher,  vol.  ii,  1867,  p.  336. 
"Annual  Report,  1845,  p.  34. 
12Ibid.,  for  1857,  p.  49. 
"Ibid.,  for  1848,  p.  12. 
"Ibid.,  1845,  pp.  54,  56. 

ill 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

naturally  follow  that  the  Bible  would  be  considered  the  one  text- 
book. The  Anniversary  sermon  by  E.  O.  Haven,  D.D.,  in  1869, 
expresses  this  conviction : 

All  Sunday  schools  are  Bible  schools.  All  Sunday  school 
teachers  are  Bible  teachers,  and  all  Sunday  school  classes,  even 
from  the  primary  classes,  are  Bible  classes.  If  there  is  anything 
that  calls  itself  a  Sunday  school  that  does  not  primarily  and 
wholly  teach  the  Bible — the  Bible  first,  the  Bible  last,  and  the 
Bible  always — it  has  stolen  a  name  and  a  garb  to  which  it  has  no 
claim.  It  is  a  cheat !  It  is  a  counterfeit !  For  we  have  a  right 
by  preemption  to  the  name — Sabbath  school — we  who  undertake 
in  these  schools  to  teach  the  Bible.  And  if  Sunday  schools,  in 
conjunction  with  other  agencies,  ever  make  the  whole  world 
happy  and  blessed,  make  it  an  antechamber  of  heaven,  we  will 
find  that  the  credit  will  be  due  to  the  Bible.15 

Throughout  this  long  period  of  Sunday  school  endeavor  the 
primary  emphasis  was  put  upon  the  conversion  of  the  pupils; 
though  gradually  other  values,  such  as  the  imparting  of  biblical 
and  missionary  facts,  and  the  growth  of  the  pupils,  became  inde- 
pendent and  conscious  goals.    In  1872  Vincent  wrote  : 

It  is  the  training  department  of  the  church.  It  is  not  merely 
for  conversion.  If  that  work  has  been  neglected  in  any  case,  then 
conversion  is  the  first  thing  to  be  sought.  But  the  main  thing  in 
the  church  school  is  the  development,  training,  and  growth  of  the 
disciples,  old  and  young.  It  is  not  merely  a  biblical  school  for 
intellectual  furnishing  in  divine  truth.  It  is  for  spiritual  edifica- 
tion.™ 

§  2.   Means  and  Instrumentalities  in  the  Sunday  School 
Work 

From  the  beginning  of  this  period  library  books  and  ques- 

''Annual  Report  for  1869,  p.  42.  (Anniversary  and  Anniversary  In- 
stitute of  the  Sunday  School  Union  for  1869,  held  at  Columbus,  Ohio.)  In 
a  pamphlet  by  S.  W.  Thomas,  entitled,  How  to  Form  and  Conduct  an  Infant 
School  (by  infants  was  meant  children  from  three  to  seven  years  of  age), 
three  sentences  reveal  the  point  of  view : 

"Reading  is  not  within  our  province." 

"Let  the  training  of  the  infant  be  Bible  training." 

"Conversion  is  the  aim  of  the  infant  cla>s  teacher." 

"'Vincent,  J.  H. :  The  Church  School  and  Its  Officers,  pp.  45,  46. 
112 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

tion  books  were  part  of  the  equipment  of  the  educational  effort. 
The  report  for  1848  relates  and  discusses  the  means  and  instru- 
mentalities employed.17 

1.    The  Bible 

It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  our  textbook  and  study  is 
the  Bible,  the  whole  Bible,  and,  directly  or  indirectly,  nothing  but 
the  Bible. 

2.  The  Question  Book 

The  question-book  forms  a  necessity  for  study,  to  both 
teacher  and  scholar;  it  suggests  the  proper  exposition  of  the 
Scriptures,  or  directs  to  the  appropriate  sources  of  information; 
it  leads  to  close  observation,  and  thus  throws  a  double  interest 
into  the  exercise;  it  holds  the  minds  of  teacher  and  pupil  directly 
to  the  Scripture  arguments,  and  restrains  from  rambling  and 
unimportant  discussions.  Finally,  the  experience  of  half  a  cen- 
tury, the  judgment  of  the  wisest  and  the  best,  the  success  of  the 
experiment,  at  the  present  moment,  all  combine  to  show  the  neces- 
sity and  value  of  the  question-book,  in  the  study  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

3.  The  Library  Book 

It  offers  a  powerful  weekly  attraction  to  the  young.  .  .  . 
It  also  supplies  correct  information,  and  at  least  the  outline  of 
knowledge  upon  nearly  all  important  subjects.  .  .  .  The  world 
of  nature,  art,  and  science,  is  expanded  before  the  admiring  gaze 
of  the  youthful  eye,  and  all  its  diversities  are  made  to  become 
eloquent   and   practical   preachers    of   truth   and   righteousness. 

4.  The  Teacher 

The  most  pressing  demand  now,  in  the  Sabbath  school,  is 
for  intelligent  and  faithful  teachers.  .  .  .  The  Sabbath  school 
teacher  must  as  necessarily  fit  himself  for  his  office  as  the  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  and  for  the  very  same  reason — success  and 
souls  depend  upon  it.  But  here,  perhaps,  we  are  met  with  the 
assurance  that  the  teacher's  office  is  entirely  voluntary,  requiring 
already  great  sacrifices  of  time  and  ease,  and  that  if  higher  de- 
mands are  made,  the  relation  must  be  dissolved.     No,  Christian 

"Annual  Report  for  1848,  pp.  66-73. 
113 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

teacher,  this  cannot  be;  you  have  not  the  right  to  dissolve  this 
relation,  although,  in  one  sense,  it  may  be  voluntary.    .    .    . 

5.  The  Parent 

.  .  .  The  Sunday  school  offers  neither  release  nor  respite 
to  the  father  or  mother.  The  more  faithful  parents  are  at  home, 
the  more  successful  teachers  will  be  in  the  school. 

Every  family  should  be  formed  into  a  Sabbath  school,  and 
the  Bible  and  Catechism  should  be  regularly  studied  and  recited 
in  the  domestic  circle.  Parents  should  make  themselves  familiar 
with  the  religious  state  of  their  children,  encourage  them  to  open 
their  hearts  freely,  and  direct  them,  by  short  and  simple  steps, 
to  the  cross  of  Christ.  Can  religious  parents  ever  forget  that 
their  children  have  immortal  souls,  and  that  they  are  born  into 
a  probationary  world  ? 

The  Sabbath  school  should  be  often  visited  by  parents,  and 
by  them  the  necessary  means,  to  secure  its  free  and  perfect  action, 
should  be  cheerfully  afforded. 

6.  The  Minister 

Until  we  surrender  our  commission  into  the  hands  of  the 
great  Head  of  the  church,  from  whom  we  received  it,  we  must 
not  only  feed  the  sheep,  but  feed  the  lambs. 

The  question  to  which  this  discussion  has  led,  the  agencies 
of  responsibility  for  the  training  of  the  child,  has  been  the  central 
discussion  in  all  periods.  The  agitation  would  seem  at  times  to 
have  lifted  the  responsibility  from  the  home  and  parents  and  have 
placed  it  upon  the  Sabbath  school  and  the  teacher.  The  discus- 
sions have  resulted  in  some  clear  and  concise  puttings  of  the  re- 
sponsibility. A  booklet  circulated  in  1849  contains  these  de- 
cisive words  :18 

He  [the  Father]  intends  them  to  learn  religion  as  they  learn 
a  thousand  other  things — from  the  spirit  and  tone  of  the  family, 
from  the  vocal  thanksgivings  and  songs  of  praise,  from  its  quiet, 
joyous  Sabbaths;  from  the  penitent  tear,  the  humble  carriage,  the 
tender  accents,  the  reverent  look  and  attitude  of  the  father,  when, 
as  a  priest,  he  offers  the  morning  and  the  evening  sacrifice.    The 

IHA  Sermon  on  the  Religious  Training  of  Children,  by  Stephen  Olin, 
D.D.,  president  Wcsleyan  University,  1849,  pp.  21-22. 

114 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

new  immortal  that  has  fallen  down  into  the  midst  of  the  Christian 
family  is  to  be  taken  into  the  soul  of  its  piety,  to  be  sanctified  by 
its  prayer  and  faith,  and  to  form  a  part  of  that  reasonable  and 
acceptable  offering  in  which,  morning  and  evening,  the  godly 
parents  lay  all  that  they  are  and  all  that  they  have  on  the  altar  of 
sacrifice.  This,  with  faithful,  diligent  instructions,  and  restraints 
adapted  to  the  different  periods  and  exigencies  of  childhood  and 
youth,  is  the  nurture  of  the  Lord — the  right  training  which,  under 
our  gracious  economy,  insures  the  early  piety  of  the  children  of 
really  Christian  families.  They  grow  up  Christians.  They  are 
sanctified  from  the  womb.  Even  their  childish  prattle  savors  of 
Divine  things ;  and  they  pass  on  to  the  attainments  and  functions 
of  mature  piety  by  gradation  so  easy  and  imperceptible  that  it 
may  not  be  possible  to  fix  the  day  of  their  espousals  to  the 
Saviour. 

The  Sunday  school  teacher,  who  has  been  raised  up  in  this 
age  of  changes  to  fulfill  a  class  of  duties  much  neglected  by  both 
parent  and  pastor,  will  discover,  we  think,  in  the  doctrines  here 
set  forth,  clear  intimations  of  the  dignity  and  usefulness  of  his 
benevolent  and  truly  evangelical  function  (p.  51). 

The  previously  mentioned  Sunday  School  Convention  in 
Baltimore  passed  the  following  clear-cut  resolution  :19 

Resolved,  10th.  That  we  regard  parental  responsibility  as 
in  no  way  lessened  by  the  efforts  of  Sunday  school  teachers.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  consider  that  while  the  parents  of  the  present 
day  ought  to  be  grateful  for  the  aid  that  Sunday  school  teaching 
offers  them  in  behalf  of  their  children,  they  ought  also  to  co- 
operate in  the  most  decided  manner  with  Sunday  school  teachers, 
both  by  supporting  the  schools  and  also  by  giving  the  scholars 
faithful  and  persevering  religious  instruction  at  home. 

The  organizing  of  the  Home  Department  and  Cradle  Roll 
has  put  back  into  the  home  some  of  the  responsibility  that  had 
been  shifted  by  the  parents.  Methodism  from  its  incipiency 
stressed  the  home  as  an  agency  for  the  training  of  both  old  and 
young.  Vincent  in  his  book  on  the  Church  School  (1872)  quotes 
from  Baxter:  "Especially  persuade  them"   (heads  of  families) 

"Annual  Report,  1845,  p.  55.  "See  also  "Conference  of  Partners," 
Sunday  School  Journal,  vol.  i,  August,  1869.  p.  163. 

115 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

"to  these  two  things:  If  they  cannot  repeat  the  sermon,  or  other- 
wise spend  the  time  profitably  at  home,  that  they  take  their  family 
with  them,  and  go  to  some  godly  neighbor  that  spends  it  better, 
that,  by  joining  with  them,  they  may  have  the  better  help.  That 
the  master  of  the  family  will  every  Lord's  Day,  at  night,  cause  all 
his  family  to  repeat  the  Catechism  to  him,  and  give  him  some 
account  of  what  they  have  learned  in  public  that  day."  20 

The  "Home  Class,"  originated  in  1881  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Dun- 
can, a  Congregational  pastor,  who  was  closely  related  to  the 
Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle  with  its  emphasis 
upon  home  study,  crystallized  the  movement.  Vincent  at  the 
International  Sunday  School  Convention  in  June,  1881,  spoke 
of  Dr.  Duncan's  suggestion  for  "the  formation  of  home  classes, 
little  parlor  classes,  meeting  together  where  they  cannot  have 
a  Sunday  school.  Let  a  good  man  or  woman  get  together 
five  or  six  or  eight  or  ten  little  people  and  teach  them  the  Word 
of  God;  and  where  we  have  one  Sunday  school  now,  let  us  have 
ten  of  these  little  classes."  21  This  approval  by  Vincent  was  a 
stimulus  to  Dr.  Duncan  to  push  the  Home  Class  work,  which  he 
did.22  Of  the  Home  Class  Dr.  Vincent  said  that  it  was  the  great- 
est single  addition  to  the  Sunday  school  movement  in  a  hundred 
years  since  Robert  Raikes  started  the  first  school,  as  that  con- 
fined the  school  to  a  room,  while  this  made  it  as  large  as  the  par- 
ish" 23  The  Home  Class  work  of  the  Sunday  school  developed 
into  the  Home  Department  with  its  own  superintendent  during 
the  decade,  Dr.  S.  W.  Dike's  movement  aiding  greatly  to  this 
end.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  reported  in  1907,  165,710 
members  in  the  Home  Department. 

Methodism  has  always  placed  upon  the  pastors  heavy  re- 
sponsibilities for  the  religious  education  of  the  children.     Their 


*°Page  61. 

JlM.  C.  Hazard,  "Home  Classes  and  The  Home  Department."  p.  15. 
Compare  for  Home  Department  Samuel  W.  Dike,  "The  Beginning  of  the 
Home  Department  of  the  Sunday  School." 

"Ibid.,  p.  16. 

"Ibid.,  p.  29. 

116 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

responsibility,  as  heads  of  the  churches,  for  the  beliefs  of  the 
children  was  expressed  in  two  conceptions  :24  ( I )  The  pastor's 
responsibility  for  what  is  taught  in  the  Sunday  school  to  be  met 
by  assembling  the  teachers  and  ascertaining  what  they  are  teach- 
ing and  by  assisting  them  in  their  preparation.  (2)  The  pastor's 
responsibility  for  teaching  the  Catechism  to  be  met  by  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Catechism  five  minutes  during  the  opening  exercises, 
or  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  at  the  close  of  the  school,  or  during 
the  lesson  by  the  teachers  themselves ;  in  any  case,  to  be  followed 
by  frequent  reviews. 

In  the  Anniversary  Conference  in  1879  the  pastor's  duties 
relative  to  the  Sunday  school  were  arranged  as  follows  :25 

I.  In  the  general  management  of  the  school. 

1.  To  approve  in  the  selection  of  teachers. 

2.  To  watch  over  the  choice  of  library  books. 

3.  To  use  his  influence  to  secure  suitable  lesson  helps  and 
periodicals. 

4.  To  see  that  the  Catechism  be  taught  in  the  school. 

II.  In  the  session  of  the  school. 

1.  To  be  present  as  often  as  possible. 

2.  To  greet  teachers  and  scholars  before  the  opening  and 
after  the  close. 

3.  To  review  and  apply  the  lesson,  if  practicable. 

4.  To  see  that  adult  classes  are  formed,  and  teach  one  if 
necessary. 

III.  In  the  public  services  of  worship. 

1.  To  name  the  Sunday  school  in  the  prayer. 

2.  To  announce  the  school  in  the  notices. 

3.  To  remember  the  children  in  the  sermon. 

4.  To  occasionally  preach  on  the  lesson. 

5.  To  encourage  the  scholars  to  attend  the  public  service. 

IV.  Through  the  week. 

1.  To  inquire  after  and  to  know  the  scholars  at  their  homes. 


"Annual  Report  for  1875,  p.  6.    Discussion  at  Anniversary  of  Sunday 
School  Union. 

25Ibid.,  for  1879,  P-  6. 

117 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

2.  To  visit  the  teachers,   and  talk  with  them  concerning 
their  classes. 

3.  To  study  the  lesson. 

4.  To  hold  a  teachers'  meeting  for  study  of  the  lesson. 

But  the  burden  of  the  task  has  always  been  placed  primarily 
upon  the  teacher.  The  Conference  that  discussed  the  pastor's 
responsibilities  set  forth  those  of  the  teacher  also  :26 

I.  The  general  duties  of  a  Sunday  school  teacher. 

1.  To  teach  the  Word,  with  the  purpose  of  saving  the  soul 
and  training  the  character. 

2.  To  influence  favorably  the  homes  of  his  scholars. 

3.  To  know  the  occupation,  habits,  and  companionship  of 
his  scholars. 

4.  To  work  in  the  line  of  the  church,  and  for  its  interest. 

5.  To  be  a  helper  of  the  pastor. 

6.  To  see  that  good  literature  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  his 
scholars. 

II.  His  needs. 

1.  Thorough  conversion. 

2.  The  habit  of  prayer. 

3.  Knowledge  of  the  Scriptures. 

4.  Knowledge  of  his  scholars. 

5.  The  spirit  of  self-sacrifice. 

6.  Knowledge  of  methods  of  teaching. 

7.  Helps,  and  a  knowledge  of  how  to  use  them. 

III.  His  duties  to  the  school  before  the  lesson. 

1.  To  be  present  five  minutes  before  the  opening,  as  an  ex- 
ample, to  greet  his  scholars,  and  to  make  needed  preparation. 

2.  To  take  part  in  the  opening  exercises. 

3.  To  keep  order  in  the  class. 

4.  To  set  a  good  example  of  order,  and  subordination  to 
the  rules. 

IV.  His  duties  during  the  lesson  hour. 

1.  To  keep  his  class  interested  in  the  line  of  the  lesson. 

2.  To  find  out  what  his  scholars  know  about  the  lesson. 

3.  To  impress  them  with  the  fact  that  the  teacher  knows 
the  lesson. 


"Annual  Report  for  1879,  pp.  3-5. 
118 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

4.  To  induce  them  to  talk  about  subjects  in  the  lesson. 

5.  To  present  the  practical  teachings  of  the  lesson,  rather 
than  its  less-important  subjects. 

6.  To  emphasize  some  one  central  thought. 

7.  To  forget,  during  teaching,  all  the  other  officers  of  the 
school. 

8.  Occasionally  to  offer  a  brief,  quiet  prayer  with  the  class. 

9.  To  maintain  an  intense  earnestness  of  spirit. 

V.  His  duties  during  the  week. 

1.  Daily  prayer  and  study. 

2.  Attendance  upon  the  social  meetings  of  the  church. 

3.  Attendance  upon  the  teachers'  meeting. 

4.  Reading  the  Sunday  school  literature. 

5.  Visiting  the  homes  of  his  scholars. 

§  3.    The  Training  of  the  Teacher 

Sunday  school  discussions  and  literature,  until  recently, 
have  not  entered  the  field  of  the  necessary  preparation  of  the 
minister  or  of  the  parents  for  Sunday  school  work,  but  every 
period  has  considered  the  training  of  the  teacher  and  at  several 
times  the  church  leaders  have  taken  up  the  agitation  and  assumed 
the  duties  as  though  the  task  were  a  new  one. 

The  church  very  early  entered  an  appeal  for  the  better 
training  of  teachers.  Following  the  presenting  of  the  first  year 
(1827)  of  organized  Methodist  Sunday  school  effort  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  says : 

For  this  highly  important  duty,  though  many  teachers  may 
be  already  qualified,  it  must  be  admitted  all  are  not  competent 
without  a  previous  course  of  instruction.  Hence  the  necessity 
and  utility  of  forming  Bible  classes.  Let  every  preacher  have 
under  his  immediate  inspection  a  class  of  teachers,  to  whom  he 
may  give  a  certain  portion  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  weekly  or 
monthly,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  let  him  examine  them,  and 
impart  such  information  as  may  arise  out  of  the  subject  for  the 
illustration  of  the  text,  that  every  teacher  may  be  competent  to 
teach  the  children  committed  to  his  care.27 

The  New  York  Sunday  School  Society  of  the  Methodist 


"Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  July  18,  1828,  No.  98,  p.  182. 
119 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Episcopal  Church  gave  in  1841  a  series  of  lectures  on  Bible 
Study  "to  interest  and  assist  Sunday  school  teachers  in  the  study 
of  the  sacred  volume."  28 

At  the  beginning  of  the  work  of  the  reorganized  board 
(1840)  the  same  problems  presented  themselves.  At  the  annual 
meeting,  April  27,  1842,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Union  recommend  to  the  Board  to 
take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  inviting  a  delegate  from 
each  school  throughout  the  country  to  attend  a  convention  to 
confer  on  Sunday  School  interests.29 

Under  the  heading  "Normal  Sunday  Schools"30  the  editor 
of  the  Annual  Report,  of  1846,  Dr.  D.  P.  Kidder,  urged  normal 
classes  for  teachers  on  the  basis  of  "Teachers'  Institutes"  for 
secular  teaching.  He  says,  "We  think  it  time  to  ask  whether  a 
system  of  normal  Sabbath  school  instruction  may  not  be  estab- 
lished," and  suggests  the  district  Sunday  school  conventions,31 
and  the  courses  of  lectures  often  delivered  to  teachers,  as  the 
basis. 

The  following  year  the  same  leader  came  out  with  the 
emphatic  proposition : 

Teachers  must  be  educated  and  trained  for  their  work. 

We  feel  it  a  duty  to  urge  all  teachers  to  seek  to  improve 
their  qualifications  for  this  office,  and  equally  so  to  urge  upon  the 
church  to  provide  every  necessary  means  for  enabling  teachers  to 
secure  the  best  of  qualifications.  Among  the  first  of  these  means 
is  a  suitable  teachers'  library.    Another  is  a  teachers'  Bible  class. 

"Sunday  School  Advocate,  1841,  p.  37. 

2SMinutes  of  Board,  1842. 

^Annual  Report  for  1846,  pp.  47-49. 

8lRock  River  Conference. 

"Resolved,  That  in  order  to  call  attention  more  fully  to  the  Sunday 
school  cause,  a  convention  be  held  in  each  presiding  elder's  district  in  the 
bounds  of  this  Conference,  before  the  first  day  of  January,  composed  of  all 
the  traveling  and  local  preachers,  exhorters,  superintendents  of  Sunday 
schools,  and  one  or  more  delegates  from  each  Sunday  school,  and  the  pre- 
siding elder  of  each  district  shall  notify  the  preachers  and  Sunday  schools 
where  and  when  said  convention  will  be  held"  (Annual  Report  for  1846, 
p.  10). 

120 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

A  third  is  an  annual  course  of  lectures  upon  topics  of  special  in- 
terest to  teachers. 

Upon  the  ministers  he  urged  that  they  "do  more  toward  estab- 
lishing and  sustaining  classes  for  teachers  and  adult  scholars," 
and  preach  "children's  sermons"  "regularly  and  frequently."32 
February  28,  1848,  the  Board  of  Managers  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  "tracts  for  the  improvement  of  teachers."  33 

The  Teachers'  Meeting  soon  became  an  agency  of  teacher 
training,  convening  usually  some  week  day  evening.34 

The  first  "Normal  Sunday  School,"  on  Dr.  Kidder's  plan, 
of  real  influence  in  the  forward  movement  was  the  one  begun  by 
Vincent  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  1857.35 

The  next  step  in  teacher  training  was  the  carrying  out  of 
Kidder's  accompanying  suggestion,  the  institute.  In  i860  Vin- 
cent introduced  this  into  the  Galena  District  of  the  Rock  River 
Conference.  For  several  years  in  this  Conference  it  was  a  thing 
of  great  force.  Thus  Methodism  took  the  lead  in  these  advance 
movements.  The  idea  spread  rapidly  and  institutes  were  very 
common.36  The  editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Teacher  said,  in 
1867,  "In  visiting  conventions  this  season  we  have  become  satis- 
fied that  there  are  people  who  have  the  institute  mania  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  are  disposed  to  introduce  them  where  they 
are  not  the  most  necessary  thing."  3T 

On  February  8,  1867,  the  Sunday  School  Union  organized 
a  "Normal  College"  "to  elevate  the  standard  of  Sunday  School 
management  and  teaching  in  the  church,  to  furnish  facilities 
for  training  teachers,  and  to  unite  all  local  normal  classes  and 

82Ibid.,  for  1847,  PP-  96-104. 

33See  Minutes. 

34See  "The  Teachers'  Meetings,"  by  R.  G.  Pardee,  Sunday  School 
Teacher,  January,  1868,  pp.  7-9. 

35Brown,  Mary  C. :  Sunday  School  Movements  in  America,  pp.  93,  94. 

86  (a)  For  a  full  discussion  of  "Sunday  School  Teachers'  Institutes" 
see  Annual  Report,  for  1868,  pp.  99-102. 

(b)  For  a  comprehensive  treatment  of  "Convention  and  Institute 
Topics"  see  Annual  Report  for  1870,  pp.  80-86. 

"October,  1867,  Editor's  Table,  p.  316. 
121 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

institutes  in  a  central  organization."  38  Certificates  were  given 
upon  the  completion  of  courses  one  and  two,  and  a  diploma 
when  the  entire  three  courses  were  completed.  The  following 
year  it  was  changed  to  the  Normal  Department.  Those  who 
held  certificates  or  diplomas  from  the  Normal  College  ranked 
here  as  second-course  students.39  The  number  of  normal  classes 
reported  at  the  office  February  10,  1868,  was  as  follows:  Normal 
classes  organized,  76;  members,  2,981;  instructors,  350;  grad- 
uates, 520.40 

In  the  normal  training  was  seen  to  be  some  hope  relative  to 
the  retaining  of  senior  scholars  in  the  Sunday  school.  The 
report  of  1856  speaks  of  youths'  Bible  classes  and  suggests 
"assistant  teachers'  classes,"  and  that  enrollment  here  might  be 
made  a  mark  of  efficiency.  For  an  instructor  "the  most  influ- 
ential, the  best  cultivated,  the  most  thoroughly  accomplished" 
is  urged.41 

In  an  Appendix  to  the  Annual  Report  for  1849,  entitled 
"Hints  on  the  Training  of  Sunday  School  Teachers,"  a  wise 
suggestion  relative  to  the  applying  of  the  normal  Sunday  school 
idea  was  made.42    It  read : 

Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  extravagant  if  we  were 
to  urge  that  a  great  church,  like  ours,  ought  to  have  at  least  one 
well-located,  well-established  school,  for  the  particular  object  of 
specially  and  thoroughly  training  persons  for  the  great  work  of 
Sunday  school  teaching? 

Several  States  of  our  Union  have  founded  normal  schools, 
at  a  great  expense,  for  the  purpose  of  training  and  qualifying 
teachers  for  their  common  schools.  Are  common  schools  more 
important  to  States  than  Sunday  schools  to  churches  ? 

Again :  having  already  numerous  colleges  and  seminaries  in 
successful  operation,  why  might  not  some,  or  all  of  these  institu- 
tions, open  Normal  Sunday  School  Departments,  with  lectures 
upon  the  theory,  and  experiments  on  the  practice,   of  Sunday 

"Vincent,  J.  H. :  Sunday  School  Institutes  and  Normal  Classes,  p.  140. 

"Sunday  School  Journal,  vol.  i,  Octoher,  1868,  p.  9. 

40Annual  Report  for  1867,  p.  20. 

"Ibid.,  for  1856,  pp.  90,  91. 

"Ibid.,  for  1849,  Appendix  B,  p.  83. 

122 


Church 

Ready  to 

Members 

Teach 

555 

1,042 

IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

school  teaching,   in  addition  to   suitable  instruction   in   biblical 
science  ? 

In  1853  a  circular  relative  to  Sunday  school  work  "was 
addressed  to  the  presidents  of  colleges  and  principals  of  semi- 
naries under  the  patronage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  43 

This  followed  a  tour  among  the  institutions  in  which  there 
were  presented  "to  the  minds  of  students,  in  a  direct  form,  the 
claims  of  the  Sunday  school  cause  upon  their  personal  coopera- 
tion and  service."  44  The  report  from  eight  literary  institutions 
was,45 

No.  of  Once  S.  S.       Once  Pro- 

Students  Over  15        Scholars     Teachers     fessors 

1,414  1,156  1,252  342  566 

In  1869  the  plan  for  a  "Seminary  Normal  Class"  was  pub- 
lished.46 

A  Sunday  school  Seminary  Normal  Class  may  be  organized 
in  any  institution  of  learning,  and  will  be  recognized  as  an  aux- 
iliary of  the  department  on  the  same  conditions  as  those  pre- 
scribed for  Church  Normal  Classes,  substituting  the  following 
as  the  course  of  study : 

1.  Each  member  of  the  class  must  pass  a  satisfactory  ex- 
amination upon  the  following  works : 

(1)  "The  Sunday  School  Hand-Book." 

(2)  "Theological  Compend." 

(3)  "The  Word  of  God  Opened." 

(4)  "Bible  Manual,"  Rev.  B.  K.  Peirce,  D.D. 

2.  Each  member  of  the  class  must  prepare  a  written  exer- 
cise on  the  following  subjects : 

(1)  "Training  our  Scholars  in  Christian  Experience  and 

Work." 

(2)  "Works    of    Philanthropy    and    Reform    in    Sunday 

School." 

(3)  "Unconscious  Influence  of  the  Teacher." 

(4)  "The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Reward." 

43Ibid.,  for  1853,  pp.  77-79. 
"Ibid.,  p.  61. 
45Ibid.,  p.  83. 

46Sunday  School  Journal,  October,  1869,  p.  15. 
123 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

3.  There  shall  be  lectures  before  the  class  on  the  following 
subjects : 

(1)  "The  Family,  the  Pulpit,  the  Social  Meetings  of  the 

Church  and  the  Sunday  School;  their  relations, 
and  how  they  may  be  rendered  mutually  helpful." 

(2)  "Duties  of  Sunday  School  Teachers  to  the  Church,  to 

the  Officers  of  the  School,  to  the  Parents  of  their 
Scholars,  and  to  the  Scholars  Themselves  In  and 
Out  of  School." 

(3)  "How  to  Win  and  Retain  the  Attention  and  Interest 

of  our  Scholars." 

(4)  "Teaching:  Analysis,  Illustration,  Recapitulation,  and 

Application." 
(5,  6,  7)   "Church  History." 

(8)  "Jesus  the  Model  Teacher." 

(9)  "The  Holy  Ghost  as  Teacher." 

4.  There  shall  be  at  least  ten  practice  lessons,  or  illustra- 
tions of  actual  teaching,  in  the  course  of  the  ten  meetings. 

Certificates  were  given  by  the  Local  Committee  of  Instruc- 
tion for  the  "first  and  second  courses"  and  a  diploma  by  the 
Sunday  School  Union  to  those  who  completed  the  Church 
Normal  or  Seminary  course  and  took  the  following  covenant : 

I  do  solemnly  promise  to  devote  myself  with  all  diligence  to 
Sunday  school  labor.  I  will  endeavor  to  study  the  Word  of 
God  thoroughly  and  prayerfully;  to  spend  more  time  in  reading, 
meditation,  and  prayer,  with  special  reference  to  my  work;  as 
regularly  as  possible  to  attend  all  the  means  of  grace;  to  visit 
my  scholars  as  their  temporal  or  spiritual  necessities  may  re- 
quire, and  to  be  punctually  present  at  school  and  all  meetings  of 
teachers. 

This  finely  devised  plan  was  highly  successful.  In  Baldwin  Uni- 
versity, at  the  commencement  baccalaureate  service  in  1869, 
five  young  men  who  had  finished  the  above  three  years'  course 
"assumed  before  the  congregation  the  vow  of  consecration  to 
Sunday  school  work."  47  The  Cincinnati  Wesleyan  Female  Col- 
lege graduated  fourteen  from  a  class  with  a  weekly  attendance 


'Sunday  School  Journal,  October,  1869,  p.  15. 
l-'4 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

of  forty  young  ladies  in  June,  1869,  Dr.  Vincent  presenting  the 
diplomas.48 

The  institute  plan  found  its  consummation  in  the  Chau- 
tauqua movement,  which  in  time,  however,  branched  off  from 
the  first  purpose  of  a  Sunday  School  Teachers'  Assembly.  The 
Annual  Report  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  for  1873 
gives  the  details  of  the  inception  of  the  first  Chautauqua.49 
At  the  beautiful  Lake  Chautauqua  the  Methodists  had  for  three 
years  held  one  of  their  camp  meetings.50  The  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Camp  Meeting  Association  in  October,  1873,  in- 
vited the  Sunday  School  Board  to  hold  a  "Sunday  School 
Teachers'  Assembly"  August,  1874.  Dr.  J.  H.  Vincent  as  super- 
intendent of  instruction  of  the  Normal  Department,  to  which 
the  Board,  after  deciding  upon  the  plans,  referred  the  matter 
for  execution,  stated  to  the  Department  Committee  the  design 
substantially  as  follows : 

To  hold  a  prolonged  institute  or  normal  class,  occupying 
from  ten  to  fifteen  days,  for  the  completion  of  the  "Course  of 
Normal  Study"  prescribed  by  the  department;  to  secure  the 
presence  of  as  many  pastors,  superintendents,  other  officers  and 
teachers  as  possible,  that  a  new  and  general  interest  may  be 
awakened  throughout  the  church  and  the  country  on  the  subject 
of  normal  training  for  Sunday  school  work ;  to  command  as  far 
as  practicable  the  best  talent  in  the  country  to  assist  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  "Assembly";  to  utilize  the  general  demand  for 
summer  rest  by  uniting  daily  study  with  healthful  recreation, 
and  thus  rendering  the  occasion  one  of  pleasure  and  instruction 
combined. 

This  special  resolution  was  passed  at  the  same  time  that  the 
decision  was  made: 

Whereas,  This  course  of  study  is  in  substantial  agreement 
with  that  adopted  by  the  normal  departments  of  the  Baptist, 


48Sunday  School  Journal,  vol.  i,  August,  1869,  p.  169. 
"Description  of  Sunday  School  Teachers'  Assembly,  1873,  pp.  74-89. 
50The  Methodists  began  camp  meetings  at  Chautauqua,  New  York,  1871, 
under  a  State  charter. 

125 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Presbyterian,  and  American  Sunday  School  Union  boards,  and 
as  the  leading  workers  in  these  and  other  branches  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  will  be  at  the  assembly  to  assist  by  their  experience 
and  counsels,  and  as  it  is  our  purpose  to  make  the  occasion  one 
of  the  largest  catholicity,  the  committee  cordially  invite  work- 
ers of  all  denominations  to  attend  and  to  participate  in  the  serv- 
ices of  the  assembly.51 

The  Assembly  lasted  two  weeks  and  consisted  of  lectures  on 
Bible,  and  theory  and  practice  of  teaching;  sectional  meetings, 
normal-section  discussions;  teachers'  meetings;  and  specimen 
services.    It  proved  all  anticipated.52 

The  report  of  1875  presented  by  Vincent  as  corresponding 
secretary  is  worthy  of  note  :53 

The  Normal  Class  idea  is  also  gaining  ground.  The  "Chau- 
tauqua Sunday  School  Assembly"  held  in  1874,  and  its  second 
session  held  last  summer,  have  contributed  immensely  to  the 
teacher  training  movement.  Denominational  and  Union  classes 
are  being  organized  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  every  Sun- 
day school  society  of  any  prominence  is  giving  attention  to  the 
subject,  urging  upon  the  teachers  the  importance  of  preparation, 
and  providing  lesson  helps  for  regular  courses  of  normal  study. 
At  Chautauqua  last  August  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  per- 
sons passed  the  required  examination,  and  have  received  di- 
plomas from  our  Sunday  School  Union.  Of  these  one  hundred 
and  twenty-three  persons,  eighty-five  are  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  out  of  the  eighty-five,  twenty- 
eight  are  ministers.  There  were  twenty-three  Presbyterian 
graduates,  four  of  them  ministers;  there  were  four  Baptist,  one 
of  these  a  minister;  one  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  and  he  a  min- 
ister; five  Congregationalists,  of  whom  two  are  ministers;  one 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends;  while  there  are  four 
whose  denominational  relations  are  not  reported.  A  meeting 
that  will  enlist  for  two  weeks  in  the  summer  time  the  interest 
and  zeal  and  diligent  labor  of  thirty-seven  ministers,  and  lead 

"'Vincent,  J.  H.:  The  Chautauqua  Movement,  pp.  23-25. 

"The  report  of  the  Assembly  bore  the  following  heading:  "Official 
Report  of  the  National  Sunday  School  Teachers'  Assembly,  prepared  by  G. 
L.  Westgate.  Printed  for  the  'Sunday  School  Union.' "  Annual  Report  for 
1874,  PP.  95-274- 

"Annual  Report  for  1875,  p.  30. 

126 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

them  to  a  personal  written  examination  on  biblical  and  Sunday- 
school  themes,  is  certainly  deserving  of  our  most  cordial  sym- 
pathy and  cooperation,  especially  since  so  large  a  percentage  of 
those  receiving  benefit  are  members  of  our  own  church,  and  the 
diploma,  which  all  carry  with  them,  comes  from  our  own  Sun- 
day School  Union,  everywhere  bearing  testimony  to  the  energy, 
enterprise,  and  elevated  standards  of  the  Union  we  represent. 
The  ministry  of  the  Assembly  in  promoting  harmony  and  fra- 
ternity among  the  several  denominations  is  to  be  considered  as 
one  of  its  most  beneficent  results. 

For  several  years  these  diplomas  were  awarded  in  the  name  of 
the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union,  and  a  close  connection  has 
always  been  maintained  with  the  Union.  However,  nearly  all 
the  leading  denominations  are  represented  in  the  faculty.  In 
1876  ten  denominations  there  represented  adopted  the  "Chau- 
tauqua Course  of  Sabbath  School  Normal  Lessons." 

The  Report  of  1878  on  the  Chautauqua  suggests  some  new 
problems  :54 

The  Chautauqua  Assembly  of  1878  was  more  largely  at- 
tended than  any  of  its  predecessors,  and  the  scheme  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua Literary  and  Scientific  Circle,  inaugurated  on  the  10th 
of  August,  at  Fair  Point,  has  grown  to  immense  proportions, 
enrolling  as  students  of  biblical,  literary,  and  scientific  works 
more  than  eight  thousand  persons,  who  are  pledged  to  a  four 
years'  course  of  reading  and  study  at  home.  The  problem  of 
to-day,  in  connection  with  Sunday  school  work,  is  this :  "How 
shall  we  control  the  literary,  educational,  and  social  forces  which 
are  either  antagonizing  or  neutralizing  the  labors  of  our  pulpits 
and  schools  on  the  Sabbath  day?"  The  example  and  exhorta- 
tions of  Mr.  Wesley,  the  spirit  and  genius  of  Methodism,55  as 

"Ibid.,  for  1878,  pp.  32,  33- 

55Wesley's  preachers  were  to  spend  five  hours  daily  in  study.  Meth- 
odism has  fostered  education,  as  has  already  been  shown,  in  its  early  history 
in  England  and  in  America.  In  1796  General  Conference  recommended  a 
Plan  of  Education  "to  all  our  Seminaries  of  Learning."*  In  1820  two 
academies  were  established,  one  in  New  England  and  one  in  New  York; 
in  1832  four  colleges.  That  General  Conference  deemed  it  desirable  that 
there  should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  one  first-rate  institution  of  this  class 
(seminary)  in  each  Annual  Conference,  and 
♦Minutes  of  General  Conference,  1796,  pp.  17-20.     Published  i8ss>  Carlton  &  Phillips. 

127 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

well  as  the  provision  made  by  the  last  General  Conference  for 
the  organization  of  lyceums  in  connection  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  justify  us  in  putting  forth  efforts  in  the  direc- 
tion of  secular  training  under  Christian  auspices,  and  in  the 
interest  of  biblical  study. 

The  Lyceum  Courses  referred  to  were  planned  as  follows : 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  presiding  elder  to  bring  the 
subject  of  education,  in  individual  churches,  before  the  first 
Quarterly  Conference  of  each  year,  and  said  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence shall  appoint  a  committee,  of  which  the  preacher-in-charge 
shall  be  ex  officio  chairman,  to  organize,  wherever  practicable, 
a  Church  Lyceum,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference, for  mental  improvement,  and  to  develop  facilities  for 
social  intercourse ;  to  organize  free  evening  schools ;  to  provide  a 
library,  textbooks,  and  books  of  reference;  to  popularize  reli- 
gious literature,  by  reading  rooms,  or  otherwise ;  to  seek  out  suit- 
able persons,  and,  if  necessary,  assist  them  to  obtain  an  educa- 
tion, with  a  view  to  the  ministry ;  and  to  do  whatever  shall  seem 
best  fitted  to  supply  any  deficiency  in  that  which  the  church 
ought  to  offer  to  the  varied  nature  of  man.56 

The  emphasis  upon  teacher  training  given  by  Vincent  was  ably 
carried  on  by  Hurlbut,  with  his  well-known  normal  courses  of 
study,  and  also  by  Neely,  during  their  short  periods  of  leader- 


"Resolvcd,  That  self-supporting  literary  institutions  are  highly  approved 
of  by  this  Conference,  and  the  establishment  of  a  department  of  industry 
in  manual  labor  in  all  our  seminaries  and  colleges,  where  it  is  practicable, 
is  earnestly  recommended"  (Methodist  Magazine  [American],  vol.  iii,  1832, 
P-  343). 

In  1836  the  record  was : 

For  twenty-eight  Annual  Conferences  into  which  our  entire  work  is 
divided,  we  have  reported  twenty-six  of  these  academies.  Of  collegiate  in- 
stitutions, we  have  six,  and  one  university,  all  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Methodist  Education  in  America,  by  W.  Fisk 
to  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine.  Quoted  in  Christian  Advocate,  February 
24,  1837,  p.  105). 

In  1864  the  Conference  urged  one  seminary  for  eacli  Conference  and 
one  college  or  university  for  every  four  Conferences. 

""Discipline,  Sec.  vi,  par.  247.  See  also  Annual  Report  for  1879,  pp. 
23.  24. 

128 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

ship.  In  1902  were  developed  "the  plans  for  an  extensive  move- 
ment in  teacher  training  for  Normal  Departments  during  the 
school  session  and  for  individual  study  of  the  Bible  and  Sunday 
School  Methods,"  known  as  the  People's  Bible  Institute.57  The 
plan  was  elaborate,  but  the  election  (in  1904)  of  Dr.  Neely  to 
the  bishopric  of  the  church  left  it  for  others  to  execute.  What 
additional  impetus  this  movement,  that  was  too  short-lived  to 
produce  results,  had  brought  was  directed  in  1907  into  a  teacher 
training  course  with  a  three-year  curriculum  and  a  magazine 
entitled  The  Adult  Bible  Class  and  Teacher  Training  Monthly.58 


§  4.    Courses  of  Study  for  the  Pupils 

Very  closely  related  to  the  preparation  of  the  teacher  was 
the  question  of  courses  of  study  for  the  pupils.  As  already  seen, 
the  reader  and  speller  early  gave  place  to  the  Bible  and  the  cate- 
chism, with  a  selected  portion  from  each  used  largely  as  material 
for  memorizing. 

In  1843  a  manuscript  containing  lessons  for  infant  schools 
was  presented  to  the  Board  of  Managers,  but  was  deemed  by 
them  unsuitable.59 

The  Episcopal  Address  of  1844  contained  these  telling 
words : 

Sunday  school  instruction  may  justly  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  effectual  auxiliaries  which  we  can  employ  for  the  pre- 
vention of  the  destructive  influence  of  error,  by  preoccupying  the 
infant  mind  with  the  germs  of  scriptural  truth.  Although  it  is 
matter  of  rejoicing  that  a  great  amount  of  good  has  been  ac- 
complished by  this  service,  it  is  believed  that  much  more  might 
be  done  with  a  system  better  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  the  sub- 
jects of  instruction,  and  with  books  suitable  to  different  classes 


"Annual  Report  for  1902,  pp.  48-55- 

""Ibid.,  1907,  p.  77.    (Beginning  with  1907  the  reports  bore  the  date  of  the 
year  which  each  covered  and  omitted  the  word  "for"  before  the  date.) 
"Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  August  28,  1843. 
129 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

in  the  several  stages  of  improvement.  Classification,  for  many 
reasons,  has  always  been  regarded  as  an  important  provision  in 
a  system  of  instruction,  especially  for  children.  We  need  not 
enlarge  on  its  utility ;  but  we  are  deeply  impressed  with  the  neces- 
sity and  obligation  of  renewed  and  persevering  effort  in  extend- 
ing the  operations  of  the  institution,  so  as  to  embrace  tens  of 
thousands  of  the  children  of  our  people  who  have  not  been 
brought  under  its  salutary  influence,  and  revising  and  improving 
the  system,  both  with  respect  to  the  mode  of  instruction,  and  the 
books  to  be  used,  so  as  to  afford  the  best  helps  and  the  greatest 
facility  in  accomplishing  its  benevolent  designs. 

The  report  for  1846  discusses  "Course  of  Study"  60  and 
urges  that  there  should  be  "regular  gradations  of  advancement 
from  the  simple  teachings  of  the  infant  class  to  the  higher  walks 
of  biblical  study."  This  is  urged  as  an  incentive  to  study  and  as 
a  preparation  for  teaching.  A  rather  sweeping  statement  not 
borne  out  by  later  leaders  asserted  that  "an  examination  of  our 
numerous  books  of  instruction  and  reference  will  show  that 
ample  means  are  provided  and  placed  within  the  reach  of  all." 

The  agitation  continued.  In  1848  question  books  on  spe- 
cific books  of  the  Bible  which  had  been  published  within  the  two 
previous  years  were  supplemented  by  more  general  ones — one  on 
the  Old  Testament  and  one  on  the  New  Testament,  to  be  used  to 
fix  attention  upon  the  Scripture  texts  in  a  consecutive  reading  of 
the  Bible.  A  "cheap  question  book,  entitled,  CURIOUS  AND 
USEFUL  QUESTIONS  ON  THE  BIBLE,"  was  also  pub- 
lished.61 Carrying  out  these  suggestions  a  "progressive  sys- 
tem" was  planned  by  Dr.  Daniel  P.  Kidder  (Secretary  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union)  in  1853,  taking  for  granted  the  classifi- 
cation of  a  school  into  an  Infant  School,  Primary  Classes, 
Youths'  Classes,  and  Senior  or  Bible  Classes.62 


""Pages  46,  47.  Note  Dr.  Kidder's  position  as  expressed  in  The  Sun- 
day School  Teacher's  Guide  (1846),  p.  395.  "No  school  ought  to  he  without 
some  regular  course  of  study." 

81  Annual  Report  for  1848,  pp.  37-39. 

'lliid.,  for  1853,  PP-  99.  100.  See  also  Sunday  School  Journal,  Decem- 
ber, 1868,  vol.  i,  pp.  21-23. 

130 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


Instruction  in  the  Infant  Class 
By  Oral  Exercises 
Singing,  and  infantile  hymns. 
Infant  Teacher's  Manual. 
Catechism,  No.  I. 

Verbal  explanations  of  Scrip-)   AU        ,    ,  ,    , 

ture  events  and  moral  duties  }  Alternated  at  each  lesson- 

Study  in  Primary  Classes 
i.  Child's  Lesson-Book  on  the  New  Testament. 
2.  Child's  Lesson-Book  on  the  Old  Testament. 
Catechism,  No.  i,  continued. 

In  Youth's  Classes 
Catechism,  No.  2,  in  short  lessons. 
Questions  on  the  New  Testa- 1 

ment.  I  With  reference  to  Bible  Schol- 

Questions   on   the   Old   Testa-  f      ar's  Manual. 

ment.  J 

Questions  on  the  Gospels.  (  Longking's  Notes  and  Strong's 

I       Harmony. 

Monthly  Questions. 

Curious  and  Useful  Questions. 

Catechism,  No.  3. 

Questions  on  the  Acts 

Questions  on  Romans 

Questions  on  Genesis 

Questions  on  Exodus,  and 
other  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

In  Bible  Classes 

Review  of  Catechism,  Nos.  2 
and  3. 

Questions  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Questions  on  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

Strong's  Harmony. 

Hibbard's  Palestine. 

The  Epistles  of  the  New 
Testament. 

The  Psalms  and  Prophecies. 

The  Book  of  Revelation. 

131 


Peirce's  Notes 

With    reference 
taries. 


to    Commen- 


With  reference  to  Commen- 
taries and  Bible  Diction- 
aries. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

To  this  course  of  study  the  report  adds  the  footnote : 

If  this  general  order  of  studies  were  observed  in  all  our 
schools,  great  advantages  would  result  to  the  scholars,  especially 
those  who  remove  from  one  place  to  another.  They  would  be 
enabled  to  resume  their  studies  where  they  left  off,  and  go  con- 
tinuously forward,  instead  of  being  repeatedly  put  back  and 
made  to  study  over  certain  portions  of  Scripture  several  times, 
omitting  other  portions  altogether. 

Some  of  the  resolutions  passed  suggest  the  general  attitude 
of  mind : 

Resolved,  That  the  preparation  of  a  series  of  classified  text- 
books for  our  Sunday  schools,  including  especially  a  work  on 
Christian  ethics  adapted  to  the  juvenile  mind,  would,  in  our 
opinion,  afford  an  increased  facility  in  our  Sunday  school  enter- 
prise. 63 

Resolved,  That  a  well-devised  and  effective  system  of  reli- 
gious instruction  is  still  a  desideratum  in  our  Sunday  schools, 
and  that  we  have  learned  with  pleasure  that  this  subject  is  now 
receiving  the  attention  of  the  officers  of  our  Sunday  School 
Union,  and  that  a  regular  graduating  course  is  in  preparation.64 

Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  with  much  gratification  of 
the  success  and  interest  of  the  mode  of  teaching  Scripture  his- 
tory and  geography,  by  means  of  Palestine  Classes,  as  proposed 
and  taught  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Vincent;  and  that  we  recommend 
Brother  Vincent,  at  his  earliest  convenience,  to  prepare  a  com- 
plete system  of  instruction  upon  those  topics  for  publication  and 
general  use.65 

In  reply  to  the  demand  the  Rev  Dr.  Floy  began  a  "Graduated 
Series  of  Text-Books".66  The  classification  was  (i)  Lessons  in 
Old  Testament  Bible  History,  (2)  Lessons  in  New  Testament 
History,  (3)  Bible  Morality.  He  was  at  work  on  a  fourth  when 
he  died.67     Although  the  matter  had  been  presented  to  the  Gen- 


03Troy  Conference,  Annual  Report  for  1858.  p.  32. 
""Annual  Report  for  1859,  p.  29. 
"Ibid.,  p.  32. 

""Ibid.,  for  i860,  p.  32,  also  Minutes  April  25,  i860,  and  July  25,  i860. 
"Annual  Report  for  i860,  p.  32;  for  1861,  p.  30.     See  for  later  series 
Sunday  School  Journal,  December,  1865,  vol.  i,  pp.  21-23. 

132 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

eral  Conference  in  1858,  nothing  was  done  by  the  church  except 
this  effort  of  Dr.  James  Floy's. 

These  series  were  greatly  appreciated  and  were  recom- 
mended to  the  schools.68 

In  1855  J.  H.  Vincent  organized  his  first  "Palestine  Class." 
In  1862  a  circular  describing  it  was  published  and  widely  dis- 
tributed, "Proposing  a  New  Department  of  Sunday  School 
Instruction."  69 

During  this  period  was  introduced  into  the  Sunday  school 
the  use  of  lesson  leaves. 

The  Lesson  Leaf  was  a  thing  of  growth.  As  early  as  1850 
Mr.  Orange  Judd,  a  Methodist  layman,  then  the  popular  editor 
of  the  Agriculturist,  and  the  superintendent  of  a  Sunday  school 
near  New  York  city,  selected  topical  lessons,  with  date,  topic, 
and  chapter  and  verse,  for  each  Sunday  in  the  year.  One  of 
these  lists  was  printed  in  the  Agriculturist.  From  the  "form" 
thus  set  up  he  had  thousands  of  copies  struck  off  on  slips,  which 
he  sold  all  over  the  country  to  such  schools  as  wished  to  use 
them.  After  a  first  success  Mr.  Judd  printed  these  slips  from 
year  to  year;  and  afterward  embodied  them  in  a  series  of  ques- 
tion books.  About  i860  many  schools  in  the  West  purchased 
these  slips  and  introduced  the  topical  lessons.70 

From  using  these  many  compiled  their  own,  and  feeling  the 
need  of  helps  for  teachers  and  scholars,  began  preparing  them, 
writing  them  out  for  each  teacher  or  printing  them  on  a  hand 
press.  The  splendid  and  pioneer  work  done  by  Mr.  Judd  may 
be  best  illustrated  by  reference  to  his  book  entitled,  "Lessons  for 
Every  Sunday  in  the  Year"  given  on  the  four  Gospels  and  Acts. 
An  introductory  preface  addressed  "To  Superintendents  and 
Teachers"  contains  the  following  important  historical  informa- 
tion: 

I  attempted,  some  fifteen  years  ago,  to  arrange  a  series  of 


68See  Annual  Report  for  1861,  p.  17. 

""Vincent,  J.  H. :  The  Modern  Sunday  School,  Appendix  F,  p.  320. 
70Field,  A.  D. :   Memorials  of   Methodism  in  Rock  River   Conference, 
pp.  458,  459- 

133 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

short  lessons  on  a  new  plan,  and  have  made  out  several  such 
series  from  time  to  time;  but  without  getting  anything  exactly 
satisfactory,  until  I  submitted  the  matter  to  Dr.  James  Strong, 
author  of  the  well-known  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  and  other 
biblical  works.  He,  with  much  labor  and  care,  prepared  a  series 
of  fifty-two  lessons,  embracing,  in  chronological  order,  some  of 
the  leading  events  and  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament,  which  I 
have  found  to  be  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose,  and  which 
has  already  come  into  extensive  use.  The  description  of  each 
event  in  the  Gospels  is  taken  from  that  evangelist  who  gives  the 
best  account  within  the  required  number  of  consecutive  verses. 
I  put  a  printed  copy  of  this  series  into  the  hands  of  every  teacher 
and  scholar  in  my  school  with  a  double  purpose :  first,  each  one 
thus  knows  without  fail  where  the  lesson  for  every  Sunday  is 
to  be  found;  and,  secondly,  the  several  events  and  subjects  stand 
before  the  eye  in  their  regular  order,  and  become  fixed  in  the 
mind.  A  second  series  of  similar  lessons,  embracing  intervening 
subjects  from  the  Gospels  and  Acts,  and  selections  from  the 
Epistles  in  their  chronological  place  in  the  history,  has  been  pre- 
pared by  the  same  hand,  for  use  after  the  first  series  has  been 
completed  by  the  school. 

After  I  had  printed  some  twenty  thousand  copies  of  this 
table  of  Lessons  for  the  use  of  my  own  and  other  schools  which 
had  adopted  them,  I  received  numerous  urgent  requests  for  a 
question  book  adapted  to  them. 

Airs.  Dr.  Olin  and  Dr.  Strong  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  such 
a  book.  The  plan  of  the  book  Mr.  Judd  gives  in  six  points : 
(i)  The  grouping  of  lesson  titles  on  one  page;  (2)  a  calendar 
of  Sundays  with  lesson  assignments;  (3)  the  lesson  printed  in 
full  on  two  pages  opening  together;  (4)  condensed  history  con- 
necting the  lessons;  (5)  large-typed  questions  for  small  chil- 
dren; (6)  smaller-typed  questions  "directly  and  indirectly  con- 
nected with  the  lesson"  with  answers.  In  praise  of  this  plan  he 
says :  "This  will  be  a  very  material  aid  to  the  great  mass  of 
teachers,  who  are  not  supplied  with  commentaries  and  other 
helps.  The  amount  of  information  given  in  these  questions  and 
answers  is  very  large  and  much  of  it  so  valuable  and  attractive, 
and  withal  so  new,  that  the  book  will  be  inviting  and  instructive 
for  perusal  by  the  old  as  well  as  young." 

134 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  1865  J.  H.  Vincent  in  Chicago  began  preparing  helps 
similar  to  those  afterward  appearing  in  the  Berean  Leaf  and 
furnished  copy  to  the  North-Western  Advocate  each  week. 
From  these  "forms"  slips  were  printed  for  the  use  of  his  schools 
as  well  as  others.     This  was  the  origin  of  "Lesson  Leaves."  71 

The  Sunday  School  Teacher,  a  paper  begun  in  1866  by 
Vincent,  was  the  means  of  publicity  for  a  new  lesson  system  the 
editor  devised.  The  first  series  in  the  plan  was  "Two  Years  with 
Jesus,"  adapted  to  four  grades  of  pupils:  (1)  Infant  grade, 
"composed  of  the  nonreading  children"  from  three  to  six  years 
of  age;  (2)  Primary,  or  Second  Grade,  "composed  of  little 
folks  from  about  six  to  ten  years  of  age,  who  can  read,  but  to 
whom  the  ordinary  Sunday  school  lesson  books  are  dry  and 
impracticable";  (3)  Third  Grade,  "average  age  from  ten  to  six- 
teen years";  and  (4)  Senior  Grade,  "composed  of  larger  pupils, 
adults,  and  of  all  the  officers  and  teachers."  His  conviction 
was,  "Whatever  course  of  Bible  study  we  undertake,  let  us  be- 
gin with  Christ."  The  two  years  of  study  were  arranged  as 
follows : 

f  1.  Historic  Outline — from 

First  Year — Christ  the  Won- J  Bethlehem  to  the  Ascension, 
der-worker.  1  2.  His  Journeyings. 

t  3.  His  Miracles. 

Second       Year-Christ       the  J  ^  g!s    ?*™h^ 
Great  Teacher.  1  g-  His  Conversations. 

^  o.  His  Discourses. 

The  plan  included  lesson  pictures,  maps,  slate  and  black- 
board outlines,  notes,  tables,  poetic  fragments,  illustrative 
stories,  etc. 

Following  this  first  series  in  the  system,  Vincent  put  out  a 
second,  entitled  "A  Year  with  Moses."  In  1868  the  Sunday 
School  Union  was  publishing  in  the  Journal  notes  on  this  series, 
prepared  by  Dr.  James  Strong,  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary, 
and  Dr.  C.  H.  Fowler,  of  Chicago.  "Lesson  Leaves"  were  pub- 
lished monthly  for  scholars  of  the  middle  and  higher  grades  and 

"Field,  A.  D. :  Memorials  of  Methodism,  p.  459. 
135 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

"Picture  and  Bold  Text  Lessons"  for  the  infant  and  primary 
scholars. 

The  Annual  Report  for  1870  gives  this  interesting  informa- 
tion as  to  the  preparation  of  this  system:72 

In  preparing  these  lessons  Dr.  Vincent  adopted  a  plan 
somewhat  novel  and  original.  Every  lesson  was  taught  before 
being  sent  to  the  press.  From  a  high  school  near  his  residence 
the  Doctor  obtained  a  class  of  young  ladies,  to  whom  he  taught 
the  lessons  as  prepared  for  larger  scholars;  and  from  a  primary 
school  he  had  a  flock  of  little  children,  whom  he  instructed  in 
the  lessons  prepared  for  the  infant  classes.  This  method,  so 
eminently  practical,  thoroughly  developed  the  lesson  to  the  mind 
of  the  teacher,  and  suggested  improvements  and  alterations 
which  were  promptly  made.  It  is  certainly  no  small  recom- 
mendation to  the  Berean  lessons  that  they  are  not  merely  thought 
out  in  the  study,  but  actually  worked  out  in  the  classroom. 

The  Preface  to  "A  Year  with  Moses,  Prepared  for  Little 
Students,"  by  J.  H.  Vincent,  has,  in  the  light  of  the  above,  added 
interest,  although  our  modern  methods  differ  widely  from  these. 

This  is  the  way  a  five-year  old  was  taught  the  first  lesson 
of  the  present  series,  "A  Year  with  Moses." 

Sitting  on  the  floor  in  front  of  the  blackboard,  the  little  fel- 
low pronounced  the  letters  as  his  teacher  made  them  with  the 
crayon,  thus : 

ISRAEL  WORK 

EGYPT  FIELD 

PHARAOH  BRICKS 

SATAN  MORTAR 

CITIES 

As  each  word  was  finished,  the  child  was  taught  to  pronounce 
it  as  he  would  the  name  of  a  person  to  whom  he  had  been  intro- 
duced. Soon  he  learned  the  name  of  an  old  man — ISRAEL — 
who  had  a  great  many  children  and  grandchildren.  All  these 
were  called  the  "children  of  ISRAEL."  They  lived,  not  in 
New  York,  not  in  Illinois,  not  in  New  Jersey,  but  in  EGYPT, 
a  country  far  away.  That  country  had  no  president  (the  child 
had  a  Grant  badge,  and  had  heard  that  Grant  had  been  elected 

"Page  44.  On  "The  Berean  Lessons"  see  Sunday  School  Journal,  vol. 
ii,  1869,  p.  36,  1870,  p.  324. 

136 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

President)  but  Egypt  had  a  king,  a  cruel,  wicked  (the  child  said 
"very  naughty")  king,  and  his  name  was  PHARAOH.  These 
words  were  recognized,  not  by  spelling,  but  by  looking  at  them 
as  words  representing  persons.  His  teacher  then  talked  about 
WORK  in  the  FIELD  and  how  hard  and  cruel  and  "naughty" 
the  king  was.  "What  do  you  mean  by  'field'?"  asked  the 
teacher.  The  child  answered :  "Where  the  cows  go  and  eat, 
and  where  the  men  work."  The  poor  children  of  ISRAEL  had 
to  make  BRICKS  and  MORTAR.  (The  little  fellow  had 
soiled  fingers  and  shoes  and  trousers  many  a  day  with  mixtures 
of  sand  and  water  in  the  yard,  which  he  called  mortar.)  With 
these  BRICKS  and  MORTAR  the  poor  children  of  Israel  built 
great  CITIES  for  the  "naughty"  King  PHARAOH.  Over  and 
over  again  he  aided  his  teacher  in  telling  this  story,  recognizing 
the  words,  and  criticizing  now  and  then  the  E  or  the  C  or  the  S, 
because  "not  made  right."  Then  the  teacher  talked  of  the  King 
Satan  that  rules  bad,  weak  men,  and  how  hard  a  life  of  WORK 
and  sorrow  is  this  life  of  sin.  The  poor  children  of  ISRAEL 
needed  somebody  to  save  them  from  King  PHARAOH,  and 
we  need  some  one  to  save  us  from  King  SATAN.  Then  the 
teacher  told  the  child  of  Jesus,  and  he  went  to  bed  that  night 
with  the  story  of  Jesus  in  his  mind.  May  the  Christ  he  heard  of 
at  the  last  moment  be  the  theme  of  his  talk  when  the  night  of 
death  comes,  and  may  he  be  the  pledge  of  the  child's  eternal  life 
in  the  morning! 

The  teacher  or  parent  may  put  the  same  words  on  the  slate 
or  blackboard.  Introduce  your  pupils  to  them.  Talk  about 
them,  do  not  weary  of  repetition,  and  then  see  if  the  little 
fellows  can  supply  the  missing  words  in  the  following  story : 

"There  was  an  old  man  called  .     He  had  a  great 

many .    These  and  their  children  were  called  the  children 

of   .      They  lived   in   a   country   called  ,    where 

reigned  a  very  wicked ,  whose  name  was .     This 

made  the  do  very  hard  in  the  . 

They  made and ,  and  built  great ,  and  had 

a  great  deal  of  trouble.  God  raised  up  a  man  to  save  them.  So 
all   wicked   children   and   men  and   women   are   under   a   cruel 

,  whose  name  is ,  and  they  have  a  very  hard  and 

bitter  time.    God  has  raised  up  a  Saviour  who  is  Jesus  the  Lord." 

New  York,  December,  1869.  J.  H.  V. 

This  System  of  instruction  was  based  upon  the  plan  of  uni- 
137 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

formity  of  lessons  for  all  classes.  Vincent  was  champion  with 
Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  for  Uniform  Lessons.  Mr.  Vincent  sets  forth 
his  position  in  the  introduction  to  his  first  Series  :73 

We  deem  it  desirable  to  engage  the  entire  school  in  the 
study  of  the  same  lesson  each  Sabbath.  Thereby  concentration, 
repetition,  definiteness,  depth  of  impression,  and  thoroughness 
are  secured.  A  central  thought  pervades  the  devotional  and 
intellectual  exercises  of  the  school.  The  Scripture  selection  con- 
taining the  lesson  for  the  day  is  read  responsively  at  the  opening 
of  the  session,  and  introduces  this  central  idea.  The  opening 
prayer  is  inspired  by  it.  It  is  the  burden  of  every  song.  It  facili- 
tates the  general  review  at  the  close  of  the  session.  It  is  of  im- 
mense service  in  the  Sunday  school  prayer  meeting.  The  wise 
pulpit  may  employ  it  for  the  evening  discourse,  and  thus  add 
"line  upon  line,  precept  upon  precept."  7i  For  the  family  we 
provide  daily  readings. 

The  Fourth  National  Sunday  School  Convention,  1869, 
indorsed  the  plan  for  uniform  lessons  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  such  a  course.  Edward  Eggleston,  a  pedagog- 
ical psychologist  in  the  Sunday  school  work  of  the  day,  said: 

No  greater  improvement  has  been  introduced  in  Sunday 
school  work  of  late  years,  than  the  uniform  lesson.  There  can 
be  no  such  thing  as  an  effective  school  without  a  uniform  lesson 
of  some  kind.75 

June  20,  1870,  the  Normal  Department  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  represent  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  in 
matters  of  Uniform  Sunday  School  Lessons,  and  the  following 
resolution  was  passed. 

"First  Year  with  Jesus,  prepared  for  scholars  of  the  third  grade. 

""Winthrop  M.  E.  Church,  Boston,  took  a  new  departure  not  long  since, 
which  has  proved  a  grand  success.  The  whole  school  at  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  session  pass  up  into  the  main  audience  room,  and  the  pastor  de- 
livers a  short  expository  discourse  upon  the  Scripture  which  had  formed  the 
lesson  for  the  day.  Timid  men  thought  it  a  mistake,  but  since  the  new 
feature  the  congregation  has  steadily  increased  and  the  service  grows  more 
popular,  and  visitors  from  other  denominations  'drop  in*  and  swell  the 
congregations"  (The  Normal  Class,  vol.  i,  January,   1875,  p.  528). 

7  Sunday  School  Manual,  p.  10.  Eggleston  before  entering  editorial 
work  had  been  a  Methodist  pastor, 

138 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Resolved,  I.  That  the  further  consideration  of  our  Berean 
Lesson  List  for  1871,  already  announced  to  the  public,  be  post- 
poned four  weeks,  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  consultation  with 
committees  from  other  Sunday  School  Unions  and  organizations 
in  reference  to  a  uniform  course  of  Sunday  school  lessons  for  all 
the  denominations  in  1871.76 

The  corresponding  secretary,  Vincent,  sent  a  letter  in  June, 
1870,  to  all  persons  and  publishers  who  were  known  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  preparation  of  Sunday  school  lessons,77  ask- 
ing for  a  conference.  Several  men  met  July  26  and  discussed 
informally  the  possibility  of  a  union  series  even  though  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  "National  Series  of  Lessons"  would  consent  to 
uniformity  only  on  the  basis  of  their  system.  The  conference 
brought  no  definite  results.  Another  meeting  called  by  the  Na- 
tional Convention  a  year  later,  August,  1871,  accomplished  the 
much-desired  result,  and  a  committee  to  plan  a  uniform  course 
was  appointed.  Two  of  its  five  members  were  the  giant  leaders 
of  Methodism — Vincent  and  Eggleston.78  The  Bible  was  de- 
cided upon  as  the  basis  for  the  choosing  of  the  lessons. 

The  Annual  Report  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union 
for  1871  has  this  paragraph: 

Arrangements  having  been  effected  with  other  Unions  and 
publishers,  the  Normal  Department  has  adopted  the  Uniform 
Series  of  Lessons  for  1872,  which  is  substantially  a  continuation 
of  the  Berean  system.  The  lessons  are  chosen  by  a  general  com- 
mittee, and  all  local  committees  or  editors  are  left  free  to  pub- 
lish such  notes,  aids,  etc.,  as  they  prefer.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  approaching  National  Sunday  School  Convention  will  ap- 
point a  permanent  COMMITTEE  ON  LESSONS,  and  that  a 
curriculum  of  study  extending  through  several  years,  and  cover- 
ing the  Bible,  will  be  chosen.79 

The  following  year  a  paragraph  explained  the  "International 
Lesson  System''  as  planned  for  the  first  seven  years : 

"Annual  Report  for  1870,  pp.  68-72. 
"Ibid. 

78For    list    of    Lesson    Committees    1871-1914    see    Organized    Sunday 
School  Work  in  America,  1911-1914,  Appendix  V,  pp.  39Sff. 
"Pages  73,  74- 

139 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

It  will  include  a  course  of  lessons  in  the  Old  Testament,  a 
matter  which  has  heretofore  been  neglected  too  much.  It  will 
also  include  church  history  and  the  doctrines  both  of  the  general 
Orthodox  Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination. 
Especial  attention  will  be  paid  to  Bible  history,  geography,  chro- 
nology, etc.  The  Church  Catechism  should  be  studied  diligently, 
a  matter  frequently  overlooked.  The  normal  instruction  for 
teachers  will  also  receive  attention,  a  plan  which  is  working  bene- 
ficial results  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.80 

January,  1875,  Vincent  began  The  Normal  Class,  a  mag- 
azine for  more  advanced  scholars.  In  the  first  issue  outline  les- 
sons in  Hebrew  were  given. 

No  sooner  had  the  Uniform  Lessons  been  adopted  than  the 
Eclectic  Sunday  School  Library  for  Bible  students  and  teachers 
was  begun,  consisting  of  "Choice  Extracts  from  Eminent  Bib- 
lical Scholars"  on  the  subjects  of  the  Lessons.  This  was  con- 
tinued from  January,  1872,  through  1875.  I*  was  designed  to 
illustrate  the  lessons  more  fully  than  was  possible  in  published 
periodicals  as  a  "Comprehensive  Commentary,"  and  contained 
the  best  thoughts  of  more  than  three  score  of  the  ablest  theolog- 
ical writers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  introduction  to 
the  first  volume  said  in  part : 

This  Eclectic  Library — so  wisely  projected  by  the  editor 
of  the  Sunday  School  Journal — is  not  designed  to  make  teachers 
slaves  to  the  views,  modes,  and  opinions  of  others;  but  it  aims 
to  throw  light  on  their  path,  to  incite  them  to  greater  diligence  in 
the  study  of  the  Word,  and,  by  contact  with  great  thoughts,  to 
inspire  them  with  a  holy  enthusiasm  in  their  heavenly  calling  of 
building  up  souls  in  Christ. 

In  January,  1876,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
adopted  the  International  Lessons. 

In  1872  Vincent  urged  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  Eng- 
land to  adopt  the  international  scheme  of  lessons,  and  they  did 
so  for  their  afternoon  series,  ordering  the  new  plan  to  be  put  in 
operation  January,  1874.81 

""Annual  Report  for  1872,  p.  18. 

"Groser,  Wm.  H.:  A  Hundred  Years'  Work  for  the  Children,  p.  71. 
140 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

As  stated  above,  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union 
adopted  at  once  the  uniform  system  and  began  the  Berean  Series. 

But  the  International  Lessons  did  not  meet  the  whole  de- 
mand even  at  the  beginning.  Dr.  Vincent,  the  corresponding 
secretary,  incorporated  in  his  report  for  1877  the  following, 
which  well  represents  the  situation : 

From  the  commencement  of  the  International  Lesson  Series 
in  1873,  the  corresponding  secretary  has  urged  upon  all  pastors 
and  superintendents  of  Methodist  schools  the  importance  of 
teaching  something  in  the  Sunday  school  besides  the  Interna- 
tional Lesson.  The  pastor  should  be  aided  by  the  Sunday  school 
in  teaching  the  Catechism  of  the  church  to  the  young  people. 
Select  passages  of  Scripture  should  be  committed  to  memory: 
such  as  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  1st,  15th,  23rd,  45th,  90th, 
91st,  and  150th  Psalms,  the  53rd  of  Isaiah,  and  many  chapters 
in  the  New  Testament.  Pupils  should  be  taught  to  commit  to 
memory  the  standard  hymns  of  the  church,  outline  lessons  in 
church  history,  in  Bible  history  and  geography,  in  the  mission- 
ary cause,  temperance  reform,  etc.  In  our  department  provision 
has  been  made  from  the  beginning  for  these  supplemental  lessons, 
and  whenever  superintendents  and  ministers  have  been  so  dis- 
posed they  have  been  incorporated  in  the  regular  school  pro- 
gramme. At  the  beginning  of  1877,  to  further  the  objects  con- 
templated by  the  supplemental  scheme,  we  published  a  tract 
known  as  'The  School  System,"  containing  certain  supplemental 
lessons  to  be  taught  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  success  of  "The 
School  System"  has  far  exceeded  our  anticipations,  and  a  second 
series  has  been  provided  for  1878,  which  we  hope  will  be  equally 
successful.82 

A  graded  school  of  700  members  was  called  "One  of  the 
most  efficient  Sunday  schools  of  the  land."  It  had  the  depart- 
ments, Primary,  Intermediate,  Junior,  Senior,  Normal  class,  and 
Reserve  Corps.  Examinations  were  given  in  March  by  a  special 
committee  and  promotions  came  in  April.83  A  Sunday  School 
Course  of  Study  was  prepared  and  tested  out  by  H.  A.  Strong, 


"Annual  Report  for  1877,  p.  34. 

83A  Graded  Sunday  School,  Sunday  School  Journal,  1890,  pp.  127-129. 
141 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

of  Erie,  Pa.,  as  supplemental  to  the  International  Lessons,  and 
upon  it  as  a  system  the  school  was  graded.84 

The  happy  or  unfortunate  effort  to  combine  the  old  and  the 
new  is  well  illustrated  by  an  article  in  the  Annual  Report  as 
late  as  1902  :85 

Better  Methods  and  Organization  for  Our 
Sunday  Schools 

The  Sunday  school  should  be  a  deeply  religious  meeting, 
and  it  should  be  a  successful  school.    .    .    . 

The  best  exegetical  and  homiletic  treatment  of  the  Interna- 
tional Lessons  will  accomplish  spiritual  results. 

.  .  .  They  should  not  aim  to  teach  history  or  geography 
of  the  Bible,  nor  overload  themselves  with  systematic  courses  of 
Bible  study. 

But  there  must  be  real  educational  work  also  in  the  Sunday 
school.  And  for  this  we  need  the  second  lesson,  the  systematic 
courses  in  Bible  history,  biography,  the  Bible  as  literature,  geo- 
graphy, courses  in  prophecy,  harmony  of  the  Gospels,  in  the  mir- 
acles and  parables ;  courses  in  the  Bible  as  producing  the  church 
doctrines,  Christian  movements,  and  institutions.  These  to  be 
given  in  a  second  lesson  every  Sabbath,  and  to  be  developed  after 
the  best  pedagogic  and  scientific  methods  practicable  within  the 
limits  of  the  Bible  school  of  the  church. 

Such  agitation  led  to  the  planning  of  additional  topical  les- 
sons, and  three-year  courses  for  each  department  were  published 
in  the  Annual  Report  of  1904:  86  (1)  Beginners'  Additional  Les- 
sons— brief  talks  for  character-training  and  a  few  verses;  (2) 
Primary  Supplemental  Lessons — progressive  lessons  of  a  simple 
character  on  the  Bible,  on  nature,  and  memorizing  verses  of 
Scripture;  (3)  Junior  General  Lessons — easy  lessons  on  the 
Bible,  the  church,  memorizing  a  few  hymns  and  Bible  passages ; 
(4)  Youth's  General  Lessons — lessons  on  the  Bible  analyzed, 
Bible  helps,  church  lessons,  hymns  and   Scripture;   (5)    Senior 

"Sunday  School  Journal,  1890,  pp.  247,  248,  328,  329. 
"Pages  44-48. 
"Pages  62-G8. 

142 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

General  Lessons — further  lessons  on  these  topics.  These  were  to 
be  used  in  five  or  ten-minute  periods  in  addition  to  the  Interna- 
tional Lessons.  The  method  was  to  be  recitation  and  drill  over 
against  the  "expository  or  exegetical"  study  of  the  International 
series.  The  lessons  were  arranged  in  three  terms  for  each  year 
"following  the  plan  of  public  school  and  college."  During  the 
summer  and  on  Sundays  between  the  terms,  "the  lessons  may 
be  thoroughly  reviewed  and  weak  lessons  brought  up  to  the 
mark."  The  following  year  the  grading  of  the  Sunday  school 
recommended  by  the  Sunday  School  Union  was  that  generally 
recognized:  Cradle  Roll  (to  4  years),  Beginners  (4  to  5  years), 
Primary  (6  to  8  years),  Junior  (9  to  12  years),  Intermediate 
(13  to  16  years),  Senior  (16-f  years),  Home  Department87 
Literature  in  lesson  helps  and  in  suitable  periodicals  was  pre- 
pared on  the  basis  of  this  grading. 

§  5.    Specific  Methods  of  Instruction  and  the 
Organization  of  the  Sunday  School 

Much  has  already  been  said  as  to  the  methods  used  during 
this  long  period.  The  following  resolutions  are  illuminating  as 
to  conditions  and  ideals  at  the  beginning  of  the  period : 

Resolved,  That  the  establishment  and  preservation  of  order 
in  Sabbath  schools  are  intimately  connected  with  the  spiritual 
and  mental  improvement  of  the  children,  and  it  becomes  us  to 
inquire  into  the  best  means  of  securing  these  important  objects. 

Resolved,  That  we  consider  an  infant  department  in  our 
Sabbath  schools  of  great  importance;  and  for  the  prosperity  of 
such  classes  we  recommend  that  there  be  two  teachers  in  each 
infant  school;  that  they  recite  in  concert;  that  a  part  of  the  time 
be  occupied  in  singing;  and  that  occasionally  they  have  short 
lectures. 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  it  highly  important  to  enlist  as 
many  in  our  congregations  in  the  study  of  the  Bible  as  possible, 
and  that  this  end  cannot  be  better  secured  than  in  the  formation 
of  adult  classes  in  our  Sabbath  schools. 

Resolved,   That   in   imparting   Sabbath   school   instruction, 

"Annual  Report  for  1905,  pp.  60-62. 
143 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

short,  spirited,  and  familiar  lectures  by  the  superintendent,  or  by 
some  other  suitable  person,  are  of  great  advantage. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced  of  the 
utility  of  Sabbath  school  missionary  collections,  once  a  week, 
and  of  a  Sabbath  school  concert,  once  a  month,  upon  the  third 
Sabbath  evening;  and  we  earnestly  commend  the  consideration 
of  both  to  all  patrons  of  missions  and  Sabbath  schools.88 

It  was  in  the  middle  fifties  that  the  agitation  began  that  re- 
sulted in  the  efforts  at  system  of  grading  and  of  teaching,  as  the 
article  entitled  "How  Shall  We  Improve  Our  Sunday 
Schools?"89  shows.  It  emphasized  "the  need  of  introducing 
some  better  method  of  instruction  than  that  which  generally 
obtains."  The  indictment  of  the  existing  method  was  expressed 
in  these  words : 

At  present  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  our  Sunday  schools 
generally  pursue  any  system  of  instruction  at  all.  With  rare 
exceptions,  scholars  are  not  classified  according  to  age  and 
capacity;  no  system  of  gradual  and  complete  study  exists;  no 
arrangement  by  which  a  scholar  is  led  to  a  complete  and  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  Holy  Writ. 
On  the  contrary,  in  many  schools  there  is  but  one  question  book 
in  use.  With  manifest  inconsistency,  the  same  lesson  is  given 
to  the  child  of  seven  or  eight  as  to  the  youth  of  fourteen  and 
fifteen.  In  some  schools  question  books  are  selected  with 
caprice,  without  any  regard  to  method  whatever.  In  others  no 
question  books  are  used,  and  everything  is  made  to  depend  on 
the  intelligence  and  skill  of  the  teacher.  Again,  in  some  schools, 
the  use  of  the  Catechism  is  unknown ;  in  others  it  is  only  in  par- 
tial use;  in  a  few  it  is  faithfully  studied.  So  too  with  respect  to 
the  committal  of  scriptural  texts  to  memory,  there  is  every  pos- 
sible variety  of  practice  ranging  between  the  extremes  of  stim- 
ulating the  scholars  to  learn  the  largest  number  of  verses  with 
which  they  can  "cram"  their  memories,  and  of  learning  none  at 
all. 

In  all  other  departments  of  instruction  we  find  system, 
methods,  classification.  From  the  primary  school  to  the  col- 
lege, the  textbook  and  the  class  are  adapted  to  the  capacity  of 


""New  England  Convention,  Annual  Report,  1845,  pp.  52,  53. 
""Annual  Report  for  1856,  pp.  87-90. 
144 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  student,  who,  guided  by  a  more  or  less  thoroughly  prepared 
curriculum,  is  led  from  the  elements  of  his  mother  tongue  to  the 
attainment  of  a  comprehensive  and  thorough  scholarship.  Can 
any  man  tell  why  the  Sunday  school  should  be  an  exception  to 
this  general  rule  of  teaching  by  method? 

Against  the  excuse  that  the  Sunday  schools  present  insurmount- 
able difficulties  a  definite  method  was  suggested : 

Two  textbooks,  the  Bible  and  our  church  Catechism,  with 
the  auxiliary  of  suitable  question  books,  commentaries,  etc.,  con- 
stitute the  sum  total  of  the  books  to  be  incorporated  into  its 
course  of  study.  This  being  granted,  what  remains  to  insure  a 
successful  method  but  to  arrange  the  classes  in  harmony  with  the 
principal  books  composing  the  Holy  Scriptures?  For  example, 
let  one  class  study  Matthew,  another  Mark,  a  third  Luke,  a 
fourth  John,  a  fifth  Acts,  a  sixth  one  of  the  Pauline  epistles,  or 
some  book  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
biblical  category,  or  as  much  of  it  as  it  may  be  deemed  possible 
to  include.  In  conjunction  with  the  scriptural  studies  of  each 
class  our  Catechism  could  also  be  introduced,  according  to  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  respective  classes. 

By  this  method,  a  child  would  be  led  gradually  to  a  toler- 
ably comprehensive  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures.  By  see- 
ing a  series  of  graduated  classes  in  the  school,  his  self-respect 
would  prompt  him  to  aim  at  honorably  graduating  from  the 
lower  to  the  higher.  He  would  also  be  benefited  by  that  change 
of  teachers  which  the  proposed  system  implies,  and  by  the  better 
acquaintance  of  his  teachers  with  their  respective  textbooks. 

A  method  common  to  the  period  of  normal  class  awaken- 
ing was  the  holding  of  attention  and  the  aiding  of  memory  by 
formal  repetitions.  A  typical  illustration  is  the  following:  A 
superintendent  placed  the  syllable  Re  on  the  blackboard  and  by 
six  additions  gave  six  rules  for  the  teachers'  preparation.  He 
said: 

So  teach  that  the  mind  you  work  upon  will 

i.  Re-ceive  the  truth  into  intellect,  conscience,  and  affection. 

2.  Re-tain  the  truth,  this  being  made  easy  through  the  com- 
prehensive and  condensed  forms  in  which  you  communicate  it. 

3.  Re-cur  to  the  truth  frequently,  having  been  charmed 
by  it,  and  being  by  its  apt  illustrations  constantly  reminded  of  it. 

i45 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

4.  Re-flect  on  the  truth,  thus  making  it  a  quickener  of  the 
intellect,  and  from  the  seed  you  hold  in  the  mind  you  will  pro- 
duce other  truths. 

5.  Re-form  by  the  truth,  it  being  accompanied  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  processes  of  regeneration  and  sanctification. 

6.  Re-communicate  the  truth.  He  is  never  well  taught  who 
cannot  re-port  or  re-teach  the  truth  he  has  received.90 

An  even  better  illustration  is  the  article,  "Important  Rules 
for  Teaching  the  Truth :"  91 

1.  The  Truth  must  be  illustrated  by  daily  living. 

(The  specific  mission  of  Home.) 

2.  The  Truth  must  be  proclaimed  by  living  ministers. 

(The  specific  mission  of  the  Pulpit.) 

3.  The  Truth  must  be  taught. 

(The  specific  mission  of  the  Church  school.) 

4.  To  the  Individual. 

(One  by  one  are  souls  saved.) 

5.  To  the  Child. 

("In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed.") 

6.  To  the  Adult. 

("Whosoever  will.") 

7.  Taught  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

8.  Taught  in  the  light  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

9.  Taught  according  to  the  best  methods. 

10.  The  Teacher  having  knowledge. 

11.  The  Teacher  having  tact. 

12.  The  Teacher  having  love. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Normal  Class92  in  its  editorial  urges 
the  Sunday  school  teachers  to  visit  the  public  schools  for  obser- 
vation as  to  professional  methods. 

Let  us  learn  how  to  teach  by  watching  the  methods  of  those 
who  practice  teaching  as  a  profession.  We  must  be  wide-awake 
and  open-eyed  if  we  would  compete  successfully  with  our 
brothers  and  sisters  in  the  public  schools  for  the  respect  of  the 
children  as  our  pupils.     The  boys  and  girls  that  will  sit  in  our 

""Sunday  School  Journal,  December,  1869,  p.  51. 
"Normal  Class,  February,  1875,  p.  77- 

"-'The  Normal  Class  ran  from  January,  1875,  through  October,  1877,  as 
a  monthly  publication,  edited  by  Dr.  Vincent. 

146 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

classes  next  Sunday  will  most  of  them  have  been  five  days  at  this 
work  under  skilled  instruction  in  the  public  schools.  It  will  not 
do  to  let  them  see  our  methods  half  a  century  behind  the  times 
in  comparison.93 

Many  articles  pointed  out  the  danger  of  substituting  insti- 
tutes, conventions,  and  normal  classes  for  the  spiritual  aim  and 
effort  in  the  day  of  new  methods.  The  report  of  1867  showed 
12,874  fewer  conversions  than  1866.94  This  could  easily  be 
attributed  by  them  to  methods  used. 

A  very  prominent  method  of  instruction  after  the  awak- 
ening of  1865  was  the  use  of  the  blackboard.  The  literature  of 
the  times  abounds  with  suggestions.  One  author  offers  seven- 
teen reasons  for  his  recommending  its  use.  These  may  be 
summed  up  under  the  headings  of  attention,  visual  stimulation 
and  memory,  variety  of  appeal,  curiosity,  economy,  Bible  pre- 
cedents.95 A  later  article  discusses,  "What  rules  would  you  lay 
down  for  the  use  of  the  blackboard?"  The  discussion  is  con- 
ducted under  seven  answers  :96 

1.  //  must  not  be  made  a  hobby. 

2.  Avoid  the  universal  use  of  the  blackboard. 

3.  Do  not  attempt  lengthy  written  exercises. 

4.  Never  employ  an  aimless  illustration. 

5.  Extravagant  elaboration  should  be  avoided  in  picture  or 

object  illustration. 

6.  Reject  all  personification,  etc.,  which  may  so  easily  be- 

come mere  comicalities. 

7.  Blackboard  "exhibitions"  should  never  appear  when  ad- 

dressing children. 

During  this  period  of  much  emphasis  on  blackboard  work 
when  every  publication  set  forth  methods  and  reasons  for  the 
use  of  the  blackboard,  there  was  expressed  some  fear  of  too 
much  emphasis  being  placed  upon  it.     That  possibility  is  pre- 


93The  Normal  Class,  January,  1875,  pp.  2,  3. 
MSee  reports  of  these  years. 
"Sunday  School  Journal,  October,  1869,  p.  15. 
86Ibid.,  December,  1869,  pp.  64,  65. 

147 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

sented  in  the  Sunday  School  Journal,  October,   1869,  page  5, 
copied  from  the  Sunday  School  Times : 

We  have  sometimes  feared  a  reaction  on  the  subject  of 
Sunday  school  blackboards  when  we  have  seen  such  a  furor  of 
enthusiasm  in  their  use.  As  the  novelty  wears  away  the  interest 
will  diminish,  and  what  then? 

Allied  to  the  question  of  the  use  of  the  blackboard  was  the 
use  of  objects  for  illustration  and  interpretation.  An  interde- 
nominational magazine  edited  by  a  Methodist  put  much  emphasis 
upon  this  method  of  instruction.  One  article  well  summed  up 
the  best  attitude  of  the  day:97 

The  pages  of  inspiration  are  thickly  strewn  with  types, 
taken  from  both  the  natural  and  artificial  kingdoms  of  the  world, 
which  represent  the  most  solemn  and  important  truths.  Often 
within  some  inanimate  object  is  hidden  an  illustration  of  won- 
drous beauty  and  power.  The  true  purpose  of  teaching  by  ob- 
jects, in  the  Sunday  school,  would,  then,  seem  to  be  to  unveil 
to  the  pupil  their  properties  and  features,  and  thus  reveal  the 
divine  thought  in  the  passage  under  consideration.  And  when 
it  is  remembered  that  our  Lord  himself  is  frequently  represented 
under  the  semblance  of  inanimate  things,  the  most  careful  and 
reverent  manner  should  exist  in  the  study  of  those  objects  which 
are  thus  used  in  conveying  religious  truths. 

Carefully  analyze  the  object,  discovering  its  various  proper- 
ties and  uses. 

Draw  the  analogy  between  the  object  and  the  truth  in  the 
lesson. 

Never  attempt  the  use  of  an  object  unless  it  is  either  named 
in  the  lesson  or  directly  and  clearly  implied.  Do  not  sacrifice 
pertinency  and  adaptation  to  a  mere  desire  to  teach  in  this  way. 

If  practicable,  obtain  the  object  itself  for  use  in  the  class. 
If  not,  a  rough  model  of  wood  or  other  material  will  be  prefer- 
able to  a  picture. 

Cultivate  the  habit  of  reading  the  Bible  with  reference  to 
this  particular  form  of  teaching. 

The  Normal  Department  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School 

"The  Sunday  School  Teacher,  a  Monthly  Magazine  Devoted  to  the 
Interests  of  Sunday  Schools,  vol.  ii,  May,  1867,  No.  5.  James  II.  Kellogg, 
"The  Adaptation  0!  Objects  to  the  Sunday  School  Lesson,"  pp.   14J,   143. 

148 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Union  opened  a  Biblical  Museum  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  1869,  in 
connection  with  the  Anniversary  of  the  Union.98  It  was  a  col- 
lection of  diagrams,  photographs,  relics,  curios,  models,  etc., 
from  the  New  York  office,  offered  in  toto  for  the  first  time,  but 
even  here  the  space  was  too  small  for  all  to  be  presented.  It  was 
explained  as  follows : 

The  design  of  the  museum  is  to  furnish  pictorial  and  model 
representations  of  Bible  topography,  manners,  and  customs,  and 
thus  render  more  comprehensible  the  facts  and  allusions  of  the 
Divine  Word.  A  large  part  of  the  museum  may  from  time  to 
time  be  employed  by  schools  through  the  country,  subject  to 
such  regulations  as  may  be  enacted  by  the  Committee  of  the 
Normal  Department.  The  museum  was  opened  on  Monday 
night,  November  1,  and  was  visited  during  the  two  following 
days  by  nearly  or  quite  three  thousand  persons.    .     .     . 

To  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Simpson,  of  New  Jersey,  Secretary 
of  the  Department,  much  praise  is  due  for  his  indefatigable 
labor  in  superintending  the  museum.  His  own  contributions  are 
among  the  most  valuable  treasures  it  contains.  The  beautiful 
model  of  Herod's  temple,  the  model  in  cork  of  an  Oriental  inn, 
the  model  of  the  Tabernacle,  which  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite 
little  gems  of  the  kind  we  ever  saw — these  are  all  the  result  of 
Mr.  Simpson's  biblical  studies,  taste,  and  industry. 

Other  museums  were  opened  in  various  parts  of  the  country." 

In  1872  a  Sunday  school  display  room  was  fitted  up  in  the 
Book  Concern  in  New  York.100  It  was  described  as  "a  fairy 
grotto."     Said  the  editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Times : 

Such  brilliance  and  bloom  of  beauty  we  have  never  seen 
blossoming  out  of  books  and  chromos  and  wall  texts  and  maps 
and  pictures,  in  all  our  Sunday  school  life! 

Sunday  school  architecture  became  a  matter  of  considera- 
tion. In  the  early  years  of  the  movement  in  England,  rooms 
and  buildings  became  set  apart  for  such  use.  As  early  as  1825 
in  America  a  record  was  made  of  a   Sunday  school  building 

98Vincent,  J.  H. :  The  Modern  Sunday  School,  pp.  134,  135,  also  Sunday 
School  Journal,  January,  1870,  p.  84. 

90Brown,  Mary  C. :  Sunday  School  Movements  in  America,  p.  98. 
100 Annual  Report  for  1872,  p.  46. 
149 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

erected  in  Philadelphia  and  the  following  year  one  in  Brooklyn. 
But  in  this  period  when  attention  was  being  directed  toward  the 
apparatus  of  the  Sunday  school,  pedagogical  considerations  en- 
tered into  architectural  discussions.  The  following  is  character- 
istic : 

The  object  to  be  aimed  at  in  Sunday  school  architecture  is 
to  combine  with  the  least  amount  of  movement  on  the  part  of  a 
school  union  and  separation;  to  bring  the  various  departments 
under  the  direct  control  of  the  superintendent,  and  at  the  same 
time  leave  them  separate  with  their  individual  teachers.101 

As  always,  the  subject  of  music  pressed  itself  to  the  fore- 
front. In  1841  there  was  published  a  "New  Sunday  School 
Hymn  Book."  102  Less  than  ten  years  later  "The  New  Hymn- 
Book"  was  advertised.  It  was  a  revision  of  the  standard  church 
hymn  book  with  "a  section  containing  a  suitable  number  of 
hymns  particularly  adapted  to  Sunday  schools,  youth,  and  chil- 
dren." 

The  Hymn  Book,  as  a  whole,  is  suited  to  all  the  wants  of 
the  church,  to  the  child  and  to  the  adult,  to  the  Sunday  school 
and  to  the  public  congregation.103 

The  Sunday  schools  rapidly  introduced  it,  the  purpose  fitting  in 
well  with  the  theological  conception  of  the  child,  "and  by  a 
double  use  in  the  school  and  in  the  church,  our  children  are  fast 
becoming  familiar  with  the  very  hymns  they  will  sing  in  mature 
life  and  in  old  age."  104  An  appended  statement  is  of  interest  in 
the  history  of  the  development  of  Sunday  school  singing: 

To  serve  as  an  introduction,  and  also  to  accommodate  all 
who  do  not  wish  to  use  the  full-sized  Hymn-Book,  the  Supple- 
ment, containing  the  juvenile  hymns,  is  published  separately,  at 
three  cents  per  copy  in  paper  covers,  and  six  cents  bound.108 

""The  Model  Sunday  School  Room,  Sunday  School  Journal,  October, 
1869,  p.  11. 

""'Sunday  School  Advocate,  Decemhcr  7,  1 84 1 .  vol.  i,  No.  1,  p.  37. 

Annual  Report  for  1849,  pp.  47-50. 
,MIbid.,  p.  49. 
IMIbid. 

150 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

This  Sunday  School  supplement  was  the  result  of  Dr.  Kidder's 
insistent  urging  against  contrary  influences. 

The  New  Sunday  School  Manual,  Containing  Scriptural 
Exercises  for  the  Opening  and  Closing  of  the  School,  and  for 
Special  Occasions,  with  Suitable  Hymns,  was  published  Sep- 
tember, 1859. 106    The  preface  states: 

The  chief  design  of  this  Manual  is  to  increase  the  interest 
of  children  in  the  devotional  services  of  the  school  by  giving 
them  a  larger  participation  in  them. 

The  contents  were  arranged  under  twenty  headings. 

In  1884  the  General  Conference,  in  response  to  many  re- 
quests from  all  sections,  directed  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union  to  appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  a  Sun- 
day school  hymnal.  The  Ep worth  Hymnal,  published  in  1885, 
was  the  result.  The  book  was  greatly  appreciated  and  won  im- 
mediate favor.  In  seven  months  more  than  two  hundred  thou- 
sand copies  were  sold.  It  contained  three  hundred  and  nineteen 
hymns  and  had  responsive  services,  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the 
Beatitudes,  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and 
the  Baptismal  Covenant.107 

In  1868  a  Sunday  School  Choral  Union  is  reported,  with 
the  object,  "to  study  the  principles  of  music  and  acquire  the  art 
of  singing  with  ease,  spirit,  and  effect."  108 

Many  articles  and  series  of  articles  appeared.  One  under 
date  of  April,  1869,  describes  in  full  the  methods  in  use  and  the 
ideals  set  forth  :109 

There  has  been  a  wonderful  advancement  in  the  last  twenty 
years  in  all  that  pertains  to  singing  in  Sunday  schools,  and  I 
propose  to  refer  to  the  best  modes  now  practiced.  How  shall 
we  teach  the  children  to  sing  the  songs  ?    Twenty  years  ago  the 

The  children  were  drilled  in 


106By  S.  B.  Wickens. 

107 Annual  Report  for  1885,  p.  44.     See  also  the  Epworth  Hymnal. 
108Ibid.,  for  1868,  p.  96. 

109Sunday  School  Journal,   vol.  i,  April,   1869,  p.  99,   "Sunday   School 
Singing." 

ISI 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

the  do,  re,  mi's,  the  result  of  which  was  that  they  learned  many 
songs  "by  ear"  and  nothing  more  of  any  value.  But  gradually  the 
people  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  successful  mode  is  to  give 
the  children  the  words  and  teach  them  to  sing  "by  ear."  There 
is  not  one  scholar  in  twenty  in  our  schools  that  can  make  any  use 
of  the  notes,  and  drilling  on  do,  re,  mi,  is  a  waste  of  breath. 

Since  this  new  mode  of  teaching  has  come  into  use  there 
have  been  three  or  four  modes  of  teaching  adopted.  Sometimes 
a  choir  of  older  people  learns  the  music  and  then  teaches  the 
children  by  repetition.  A  common  practice  is  for  the  leader  to 
sing  before  the  whole  school  a  line  at  a  time,  causing  the  children 
to  repeat  after  him  till  the  tune  is  learned.  This  is  an  excellent 
mode,  but  it  is  hard  on  the  leader,  and  as  all  drill  exercises  in  the 
school  are  attended  with  difficulty,  this,  which  is  so  great  an 
improvement  over  the  old  modes,  is  not  now  the  best. 

The  latest  and  best  mode  is  as  follows:  The  leader  selects 
a  dozen  or  more  ready  singers  from  among  the  older  scholars, 
whom  he  drills  on  a  week-day  afternoon  or  evening.  When  he 
wishes  to  teach  the  school  a  new  piece  he  sits  down  at  the  organ 
in  front  of  the  school,  calls  his  young  choir  around  him,  and  by 
the  aid  of  their  voices  he  soon  brings  the  whole  company  to  join 
in  rapturous  singing.  The  leader's  voice  is  too  weak  to  control 
a  crowd  of  wayward  singers.  The  combined  voices  of  leader 
and  choir  can  control  the  largest  school. 

In  discussing  singing  books  the  writer  mentioned  the  plans  in  use, 
(i)  a  hymn  book,  (2)  hymns  stenciled  on  rolls  of  cloth  or 
paper  and  put  on  a  standard  before  the  school,  (3)  cards  with 
hymns  printed  on  them,  (4)  hymns  printed  on  the  lesson  leaves 
as  in  "A  Year  with  Moses."  Later  in  the  year  the  author  of 
the  above  article  published  a  set  of  twelve  songs  on  boards,  at 
$2.50  per  set,  suitable  to  be  hung  on  the  wall,  and  adapted  espe- 
cially to  infant  classes.110 

Dr.  Eggleston  characterized  the  epochs  up  to  1867  as  ( 1 )  the 
introduction  of  libraries,  (2)  printing  of  Sunday  school  papers, 
(3)  lively  singing,  (4)  improved  methods  of  teaching,  (5)  con- 
vention movement,  (6)  institute  work,  (7)  emphasis  upon  con- 
version of  children    ("our  present  point  of  advancement"),   a 

""Sunday  School  Journal,  vol.  i,  August,  1869,  p.  164. 

152 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

movement  just  begun,  (8)  organization  of  children  ("the  next 
great  step")  for  Christian  culture  and  Christian  work,  the  "Chil- 
dren's Band"  or  the  "Sunday  School  Band."  1X1 

Dr.  Hurlbut's  emphasis  upon  normal  training  increased  the 
use  of  maps  and  historical  charts.  In  the  last  decade  of  the 
period  the  public  school's  stressing  of  expression  work  and  man- 
ual training  gradually  brought  into  the  Sunday  school  a  new 
equipment :  sand  maps,  tables,  cupboards,  pictures,  and  all  the 
means  necessary  for  handwork.  In  behalf  of  the  music  there 
came  quite  generally  the  organizing  of  an  orchestra  and  the  use 
of  a  Sunday  school  hymn  book.112 

One  of  the  marked  features  of  the  period  as  it  drew  to  a 
close  was  the  tendency  to  organize  the  interest  of  the  school  or 
pupils  into  definite  societies.  Many  were  interdenominational, 
but  made  appeal  to  Methodist  Sunday  school  people.  Some  of 
these  were  Lend-a-Hand  Clubs  and  Ten-Times-One  Clubs 
(1870,  incorporation  in  a  Central  Society  in  1891);  King's 
Daughters  and  Sons  (1886,  1887  centrally  incorporated)  ;  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  (1881);  Epworth  League  (1889);  Brotherhood 
of  Saint  Paul  (1896);  Loyal  Temperance  Legion,  Knights  of 
the  Silver  Cross;  Bands  of  Mercy;  Knights  of  King  Arthur; 
Boys'  Brigade  (1890);  Kappa  Sigma  Pi  and  Phi  Beta  Pi;  the 
Win-One  Society.  Special  note  should  be  made  of  the  tendency: 
to  class  organization,  such  as  the  Baracca  Class,  Philatheas,  and 
Adult  Bible  Class;  to  department  organization,  especially  the 
primary  and  adult;  to  official  organization  such  as  the  City 
Superintendents'  Union.113 

§  6.     Sunday  School  Libraries 

As  an  inheritance  from  the  previous  periods  of  Sunday 
school  work  came  the  emphasis  upon  libraries.  The  close  rela- 
tionship of  the  Sunday  School  Union  to  the  publishing  depart- 

inSunday  School  Teacher,  1867,  p.  189. 

112The  Sunday  School  Hymnal  was  published  by  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools  in  191 1  and  had  a  very  large  sale  immediately. 
113Annual  Report  for  1906,  pp.  128-131. 

153 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


ment  of  the  Church  made  possible  and  efficient  the  large  use  of 
religious  literature,  tracts,  periodicals,  and  books.  In  1842  the 
Sunday  School  Board  decided  upon  the  publication  of  a  "Sun- 
day School  Teachers'  Library."  114 

In  1845  a  large  addition  was  made  to  the  Sunday  school 
books  published,  the  number  of  pages  aggregating  for  the  year, 
17,566,000;  and  there  was  much  improvement  in  style,  illustra- 
tions, and  general  finish.115  The  list  of  new  books  for  the  year 
will  indicate  somewhat  the  contents  of  Sunday  school  libraries : 


The  Hand 

The  Tongue 

The  Seed 

The  Flower 

The  Fly 

The  Ant 

The  Animalcule 

The  Nest 

The  Feather 

The  Sea  Star 

The  Coral  Maker 

The     Kingdom     of     Heaven 

Among  Children 
The  Jew  among  all  Nations 
Scripture  Characters 
We  are  Seven 
No  King  in  Israel 
Ananias  and  Sapphira 
Forty-Two  Children 
Anna,  the  Prophetess 
Missionary      Book      for 

Young 
Learning  to  Think  (2  vols.) 
Jonathan  Saville 
Kindness  to  Animals 
Flolding's  Homely  Hints  to 

Sunday  School  Teachers 
Little  Ann 


the 


The  Eye 

The  Ear 

The  Grass 

The  Fruit 

The  Honey  Bee 

The  Spider 

The  Gall  Insect 

The  Egg 

The  Songbird 

The  Lobster 

The  Fish 

Cottage  on  the  Moor 

The  Patriarchs 

McGregor  Family 

Beloved  Physician 

Miracles  of  Christ 

Journeyings  of  the  Children  of 

Israel 
Learning  to  Feel  (2  vols.) 
Learning  to  Act 
Learning  to  Converse 
Useful  Trades,  (2  vols.) 
Life  of  Susan  G.  Bowler 
Old  Anthony's  Hints 
Infant  Teacher's  Manual 
Bible    Stories     (4    vols.)     for 

small  Children 


'"Minutes,  July  25.  1842,  and  October  29,  1S4J. 

'"Annual  Report,  1S45.  p.  39.    Compare  with  the  ten-page  catalogue  of 
Sunday  school  publications  in  ibid.,  lot  1852,  pp.  95-104. 

154 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

In  1846,  we  find  advertised  under  "Sunday-School  Re- 
quisites" :116 

Books  of  Registry,  including  Receiving  Book,  Minute  Book,  and 

Class  Book 
Representative  Library  Accounts,  adapted  to  the  above  Register 

and  Class  Book,  and  corresponding  to  the  numbers  marked 

on  our  library  books 
Library  Catalogues,  to  accompany  the  above 
Library  Catalogues,  with  Order  Slates  attached 
Scripture  Cards,  for  Sunday  School  Rooms 
Tickets  and  Certificates  for  the  encouragement  of  scholars 
Spelling  and  Reading  Books      Bible  Dictionaries 
Catechisms  Notes  and  Commentaries 

Scripture  Proofs  Hymns 

Question  Books  Bibles 

Books  of  Reference  Testaments 

Manuals 

For  the  Primary  Department  they  advertised  alphabetical 
cards,  100  tracts,  260  reward  books,  and  100  volumes  in  a  chil- 
dren's library.  In  the  Juvenile  Department  they  advertised  382 
volumes  called  the  Youth's  Library.  For  the  Adult  Department 
eight  volumes  were  listed,  making  in  all  570  bound  volumes  and 
about  1,000  distinct  publications  of  all  kinds.  (In  1849  there 
were  1,445  publications  expressly  for  the  Sunday  school.)117 
The  same  advertisement  states,  "In  Preparation  a  Series  of 
Tracts  for  Sunday  School  Teachers." 

The  emphasis  placed  upon  the  libraries  had  as  motives,  the 
securing  of  uniformity  of  instruction,  especially  of  denomina- 
tional creeds  and  ideas,  the  awakening  and  holding  of  interest, 
and  the  affording  of  some  connection  with  the  Sunday  school 
during  the  week. 

Some  problems  arose  beyond  that  of  securing  suitable  books 
for  the  libraries.  In  1854  "A  Peculiar  Danger"  is  described  as 
"Even  in  Sabbath  school  libraries  works  of  a  more  than  doubtful 


"Ibid.,  for  1846,  pp.  20-26. 
7Ibid.,  for  1849,  p.  47. 

155 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

character  are  beginning  to  be  common."     A  second  problem  is 
mirrored  in  the  following  statement: 

Reasonable  persons  will  agree  that  the  perusal  of  one  good 
book  per  week  is  enough  for  each  scholar.  All  surplus  time 
beyond  this  had  better  be  employed  in  the  study  of  the  Bible  or 
schoolbooks,  it  being  always  remembered,  that  the  Sunday  school 
is  under  no  obligation  to  furnish  miscellaneous  and  secular  read- 
ing to  a  community.118 

Well  can  one  understand  the  larger  problem  with  which 
these  people  wrestled  as  one  reads  this  statement  from  the 
records  of  the  East  Maine  Conference  in  185 1  :119 

Whereas,  Our  country  is  flooded  with  books,  periodicals, 
and  publications  made  up  of  fiction,  romance,  and  mental  gossip, 
destitute  alike  of  literary  merit  and  common  sense,  sickening  to 
sound  judgment,  and  disgusting  to  the  finer  sensibilities,  weak- 
ening the  intellect,  perverting  the  taste,  and  developing  the  lower 
propensities  of  our  nature;  thus  utterly  disqualifying  persons 
for  the  stern  duties  and  virtues  of  this  life,  and  shutting  out 
every  hope  of  heaven ;  therefore 

1.  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  our  youth  to  desist  en- 
tirely from  novel-reading,  and  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  works  of 
profound  scientific  and  religious  merit. 

And,  whereas,  many  of  the  professedly  religious  works 
now  in  circulation  are  tinged  with  fatalism,  rationalism,  tran- 
scendentalism, and  infidelity,  and  are  calculated  to  mystify  the 
simple  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  lead  souls  astray  from  God; 
therefore — 

Dr.  Eggleston,  as  editor  of  the  Sunday  School  Teacher,  set 
forth  in  1867  four  requisites  of  Sunday  school  literature:120  (1) 
It  must  be  readable,  (2)  true,  (3)  pure,  (4)  of  a  character  cal- 
culated to  elevate  the  children. 

Later  in  the  period,  when  other  methods  for  instruction 
and  interest  became  prominent,  the  library  lost  something  of 
its  prestige.  The  style  of  book  changed  with  the  changing  de- 
mands  and   responded   to   the   conceptions  of   religious    educa- 

""Annual  Report  for  1854,  pp.  75,  79. 
,18Ibid.,  for  1851,  p.  20. 
""Sunday  School  Teacher,  1867,  p.  189. 
156 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

tion  dominant  in  each  period.  Toward  the  close  of  the  period 
the  public  libraries  so  generally  established  made  unnecessary 
and  unsatisfactory  the  Sunday  school  library  for  the  pupils. 
Emphasis  was  put  upon  the  Teachers'  Library  for  teacher  train- 
ing, to  be  owned  by  the  teachers  individually  or  to  be  installed 
in  a  church  study  room.121 

§  7.    Sessions  of  the  Sunday  School 

One  of  the  constant  problems  has  always  been  the  time 
allotted  to  the  school.  In  the  forties  the  old  plan  was  still  in 
vogue,  the  school  session  being  held  between  morning  and  after- 
noon preaching  services.  An  article  entitled  "Preaching  to  Sun- 
day School  Children"  gives  the  details  of  the  double  Sunday 
school  session : 

We  have  long  been  of  opinion  that  there  was  something 
radically  defective  in  our  present  mode  of  disposing  of  Sunday 
school  children  during  the  hours  of  public  worship  in  the  church. 
We  know  not  how  it  is  through  the  country  generally,  but  in  this 
city  the  practice  is  to  commence  the  morning  session  of  the 
school  at  nine  o'clock,  and  close  it  at  half-past  ten,  when  the  chil- 
dren are  taken  into  the  church,  where  they  remain  till  the  close 
of  the  service — usually  twelve  o'clock,  or  a  little  after.  In  the 
afternoon  they  again  make  their  appearance  in  the  schoolroom 
at  half  past  one,  continue  there  till  three,  and  then  go  to  church, 
where  they  spend  another  hour  and  a  half. 

The  plan  was  changed  for  a  short  time: 

The  children  were  taken  to  church  in  the  morning,  but  in 
the  afternoon  were  retained  in  the  schoolroom,  where  such  serv- 
ices were  held  as  were  calculated  both  to  interest  and  benefit 
them.  This  plan  "worked  well,"  and,  as  we  learn,  conversions 
were  much  more  frequent  in  the  school  than  they  are  now;  but 
as  it  did  not  meet  the  general  approbation  of  the  preachers,  the 
officers  of  the  schools  were,  after  a  long  struggle,  compelled  to 
give  it  up. 

Baltimore  continued  the  new  plans  in  her  Methodist  schools.122 

121See  The  Teacher's  Library,  Annual  Report.  1907,  pp.  80-87. 
122Sunday  School  Advocate,  January  18,  1842,  p.  61. 
157 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

We  read  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1847: 

What  we  ask  for  is,  that  two  sessions  be  secured  for  the 
school  each  Sabbath  day.  .  .  .  We  are  unwilling,  however, 
that  these  two  sessions  should  be  so  crowded  in  between  other 
religious  services  which  teachers  and  scholars  are  expected  to 
attend  as  that  hurry  and  fatigue  shall  unfit  the  one  class  for  their 
duties  and  the  other  for  their  privileges.123 

The  present  plan  of  one  session  held  before  or  after  the  morn- 
ing preaching  service  or  in  the  afternoon  gradually  supplanted 
all  others. 

Throughout  a  large  part  of  this  period  the  Sunday  schools 
were  dismissed  during  the  winter.  No  resolution  is  to  be  found 
more  persistently  upon  the  records  of  Conferences  and  Conven- 
tions than  that  in  favor  of  winter  sessions  being  held  whenever 
possible. 

The  secretary,  Dr.  Kidder,  in  his  report  for  1852,  made  a 
strong  appeal  for  Sunday  schools  in  the  winter  (pp.  63-66)  that 
will  show  how  large  a  problem  the  dismissing  of  Sunday  schools 
for  the  winter  time  had  become : 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that,  in  a  large  portion  of  our  rural 
districts  and  in  many  of  our  villages,  our  Sunday  schools  are 
closed  during  all  the  winter  and  a  great  portion  of  spring  and 
autumn.  This  is  a  great  evil,  the  removal  of  which  would  be  an 
incalculable  blessing  to  the  church.  .  .  .  Presiding  elders, 
preachers-in-charge,  official  members,  let  us  combine  our  efforts 
against  this  evil,  and,  by  God's  help,  banish  it  from  the  church. 
Let  us  persuade  our  congregations  to  make  the  experiment  for 
a  single  winter. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  period  the  summer  session  became  the 
problem,  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  schools  to  be  dismissed  dur- 
ing the  summer  vacation  time,  especially  in  city  Sunday  schools. 
This  produced  the  agitation  of  an  eight-months'  course  of  study 
versus  a  twelve-months'  plan. 

Early  in  the  period  the  two-sessions-a-day  school  gave  way 


'Pages  93,  94. 

158 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

to  the  one-session  school.  Hardly  was  this  done  before  the  em- 
phasis upon  new  methods  and  supplementary  courses  of  study 
forced  the  discussion  of  additional  time.  This  burning  question 
without  a  solution  was  passed  on  for  the  twentieth-century  Sun- 
day school  to  answer. 

§  8.    Children's  Meetings 

Children's  meetings  became  very  popular  about  the  middle 
of  the  period.  A  letter  to  Mr.  Eggleston  in  1870  describes  a  typ- 
ical girls'  meeting,  in  which  children  were  called  upon  for  prayer 
and  were  encouraged  to  speak  "of  their  own  spiritual  condition, 
of  the  resisting  of  active  temptation,  of  their  faithfulness  in 
private  reading  and  prayer,  of  anything  they  have  done  for 
Jesus."  124 

The  Rev.  B.  T.  Vincent,  the  superbly  successful  leader  of 
children's  meetings  at  Chautauqua,  as  well  as  in  his  pastoral 
charges,  gave  three  objects  to  be  kept  in  view  :125 

1.  Spiritual  profit. 

2.  The  teaching  of  lessons  supplemental  to  those  taught  in 
the  Sunday  school. 

3.  Arrangements  for  recreation  for  the  children. 

Children's  meetings  gradually  took  on  organized  form, 
some  as  a  part  of  Sunday  school  activities,  others  as  independent 
organizations.  Methodism  originated  several,  such  as  the  Chil- 
dren's Band,  Missionary  Circles,  the  White  Shield  League,  the 
Junior  League,  the  Knights  of  Methodism,  the  King's  Heralds, 
Queen  Esther  Circles,  etc.  In  other  plans  of  work  Methodism 
joined  heartily,  such  as  the  Loyal  Temperance  Legion,  the  Band 
of  Hope,  the  Knights  of  King  Arthur,  etc. 

It  is  ot  interest  to  note  Dr.  Eggleston's  characterization  in 
1867  of  "the  next  great  step"  in  Sunday  school  work  as  the 
organization   of   children    for   Christian   culture   and   Christian 


^National  Sunday  School  Teacher,  1870,  p.  75. 
"'Annual  Report  for  1879,  p.  5. 

159 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

work  in  the  form  of  the  Children's  Band  or  the  Sunday  School 
Band.126 

§  9.    Prophecies  of  the  Modern  Emphasis  in  the 
Sunday  School 

A  prophecy  of  the  present  day  is  to  be  found  in  the  sixties 
and  seventies.  The  first  has  to  do  with  Sunday  school  visitors : 

We  must  have  missionaries — lady  missionaries  are  the  best 
— to  look  after  absentees,  and  visit  the  sick,  &c.  Would  it  not 
be  well  even  for  smaller  schools  to  employ,  at  regular  seasons, 
some  zealous  Christian  lady  to  visit  the  entire  schools,  inquiring 
into  their  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare,  and  especially  to  seek 
out  absentees.  Each  of  our  larger  schools  should  have  one  em- 
ployed constantly.127 

A  second  relates  itself  to  vocational  guidance  and  social  service 
activities : 

The  Sewing  Meeting  for  girls  is  an  excellent  institution. 
By  its  means  the  school  gives  instruction  to  girls  in  that  which 
may  serve  them  as  a  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood. 

But  this  should  be  carried  farther.  Ask  of  your  larger 
boys  and  girls:  "What  are  you  going  to  do  for  a  living?"  An- 
nounce that  advice  will  be  given  to  all  those  who  want  to  select 
an  employment.  Announce  that  the  school  will  assist  its  mem- 
bers to  get  places  to  learn  permanent  occupations.  Teach  them 
that  the  demand  of  the  world  is  for  skilled  labor.  Show  them 
the  superiority  of  a  productive  trade,  in  most  cases,  to  a  clerk- 
ship. Have  a  committee  to  receive  applications  of  which  the 
superintendent  should  usually  be  chairman. 

Have  addresses  delivered,  now  and  then,  on  the  selection 
of  a  trade.128 

Another  ushers  us  into  the  atmosphere  of  modern  philanthropy  : 

Each  member  of  the  church  should  have  a  beneficent  work 
to  do  in  the  world,  and  should  have  several  families  to  visit, 
among  whom  he  may  do  good.  Church  socials  are  an  excellent 
means  of  usefulness.     Every  Sunday  school  teacher  should  visit 

'"Sunday  School  Teacher,  1867,  p.  189. 

'"Ibid.,  p.  350. 

'"Ibid. 

160 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  homes  of  her  pupils.  Men  of  wealth  should  contribute  to 
the  glory  of  Gocl  by  throwing  open  their  collections  of  pictures, 
their  statuary,  and  their  other  possessions  of  interest  which  will 
entertain  and  benefit  the  people.129 

The  Fourth  of  July  Sunday  school  picnic  idea  may  be  due 
to  such  agitation  as, 

Give  us  Sunday  school  and  temperance  celebrations  on  the 
4th,  in  preference  to  all  the  gunpowder  explosions  and  noisy 
parades  that  may  be  gotten  up. 

In  this  way  some  appropriate  ideas  of  liberty  and  patriot- 
ism may  be  infused  into  the  minds  of  the  young.130 

The  recreation  idea  as  an  object  of  the  Sunday  school  came 
late  in  the  period,  in  the  eighties.131  Dr.  Hurlbut  gave  in  an 
anniversary  address  as  the  first  of  the  three  things  a  Sunday 
school  must  do,  "Make  everybody  have  a  good  time,  so  that 
teachers  and  scholars  will  enjoy  it."  132  To  plan  week-day  re- 
creations came  to  the  Sunday  school  as  a  part  of  its  duty  with 
the  coming  of  the  twentieth  century,  though  the  Sunday  school 
picnic  was  much  earlier,  as  the  following  resolution  will  attest : 

Resolved,  That  the  custom,  so  common  of  late,  of  Sunday 
school  excursions  is  of  doubtful  expediency,  and  that  great  care 
should  be  exercised  by  those  having  them  in  charge  that  they  do 
not  degenerate  into  occasions  of  mere  amusement  and  unbecom- 
ing sports,  thereby  leading  to  mental  dissipation,  grieving  the 
Spirit,  and  banishing  serious  thought  fulness  from  the  mind.133 

The  twentieth  century  has  given  added  content,  and,  in 
some  particulars,  new  meaning  to  some  earlier  expressions,  "the 
children's  church,"  134  "the  country  Sunday  school."  135 

This  period  fought  out  the  question  relative  to  the  legiti- 
mate field  of  the  Sunday  school.     The  movement  had  been  inau- 

129 Annual  Report  for  1872,  p.  17. 
130Ibid.,  for  1853,  P-  7- 

131But  note  the  earlier  plan  of  the  Rev.  B.  T.  Vincent,  p.  159. 
132 Annual  Report  for  1889,  p.  5. 
133Ibid.,  for  1859,  p.  29. 

134Sunday  School  Teacher,  April,  1868,  p.  113. 
135Volume  issued  by  J.  H.  Vincent,  Annual  Report  for  1871,  p.  64. 
161 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

gurated  for  the  poor  children.  It  was  a  great  advance  when  in 
this  aggressive  period  all  children  were  included  in  the  Sun- 
day school  idea.  As  late  as  1846  the  battle  was  still  being  waged. 
The  Anniversary  gathering 

Resolved,  That  the  church  is  bound  by  the  strongest  natural, 
moral,  and  religious  obligations  to  provide  Sunday  school  in- 
struction for  all  her  children,  but  especially  for  the  poor  and 
needy.136 

An  article  dated  1849,  entitled  "The  Work  Before  Us,"  pre- 
sents its  twofold  nature — aggressive,  with  an  appeal  for  the 
reaching  of  the  vicious,  ragged,  ungovernable,  uncultivated;  and 
conservative,  with  the  appeal  that  the  Sabbath  school  officers 
and  teachers,  as  more  permanent  than  an  itinerant  ministry, 
should  guard  and  develop  the  growing  life.  Relative  to  the  reach- 
ing of  the  children  of  the  lower  classes  the  following  lines  are 
significant : 

Whether  these  children  should  be  at  once  introduced  into 
the  Sabbath  school,  with  those  whose  early  training  and  advan- 
tages have  been  superior,  is  a  question  concerning  which  there  is 
a  difference  of  opinion.  But  let  the  children  themselves  not  be 
neglected;  if  it  is  the  better  way,  let  each  of  our  highly  favored 
schools  sustain  what  may  be  considered  its  missionary  branch, 
composed  of  those  that  have  been  gathered  from  the  "highways 
and  hedges"  by  their  zealous  efforts.  At  any  rate,  let  not  these 
perishing  thousands  of  "little  ones"  lift  up  their  appalling  spirit- 
ual cries  to  God  in  vain.  Christ  died  for  them.  Can  his  dis- 
ciples do  less  than  collect  them  around  his  cross?137 

As  to  the  proper  age  for  Sunday  school  enrollment  there 
was  much  discussion.  The  children  of  years  of  accountability 
were  the  legal  heirs  of  the  Sunday  school.  Then  the  Infant 
Class  Department  received  emphasis,  especially  when  the  aim  of 
the  Sunday  school  became  conversion  rather  than  learning  to 

""Annual  Report  for  1846,  p.  3,  Sixth  Anniversary  of  Union.  April  ag, 
1846.    Compare  with  Dr.  Kidder's  statement  in  "The  Sunday  School  Teacher's 

Guide"  (1846),  p.  392:  "Sunday  schools  offer  their  benefits  alike  to  the  chil- 
dren of  the  rich  and  of  the  poor." 

'"Annual  Report  for  1848,  pp.  63,  64. 
162 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

read,  and  it  was  found  that  children  of  three  years  could  pass 
through  an  adult's  religious  experience,  if  definitely  directed.  In 
1853  the  report  read,  "The  increase  of  infant  scholars  is  another 
excellent  indication."  138  These  were  defined  by  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference  as  those  "incapable  of  committing  to  memory 
the  regular  lessons  of  the  scholars  without  the  aid  of  others."  139 

The  question  of  the  adult  class,  while  so  easily  settled  in 
England  and  Wales,  remained  an  open  matter  until  the  present 
period,  when  the  Sunday  school  was  declared  to  be  for  the  entire 
congregation.140  In  i860  the  word  "adults"  was  added  in  the 
Discipline  to  that  of  "larger  children  and  youth"  (1856)  for 
whom  Bible  classes  were  to  be  formed. 

With  the  coming  of  the  Uniform  Lessons  (1872)  which 
were  planned  for  all  ages,  the  discussions  ceased.  The  term 
"Bible  class"  lost  its  significance,  as  all  were  Bible  classes.141  It 
remained  for  the  twentieth  century  to  put  new  and  emphatic 
emphasis  upon  the  "Adult  Bible  Class." 

§   10.    The  Extensive  Work  of  the  Sunday  School 

Thus  far  the  emphasis  in  this  period  has  been  put  upon  the 
intensive  work.  The  extensive  work  took  on  two  aspects,  the 
spread  of  the  Sunday  school  in  the  United  States  and  the  Sun- 
day school  work  among  foreign  peoples. 

As  early  as  1842  request  was  made  for  the  appointment  of 
"an  agent  for  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church."  142  The  Rev.  Edmund  S.  Janes,  financial  secre- 
tary of  the  American  Bible  Society,  was  requested  to  act  as  agent 
for  the  Union  in  the  Conferences  he  might  visit.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  he  reported  and  was  continued.143  An  additional 
minute  on  the  subject  (February  24,  1845)  reads: 


sIbid.,  for  1853,  P-  41- 

BIbid.,  for  1853,  P-  15- 

"Ibid.,  for  1849,  p.  22.     (Resolution  of  the  Vermont  Conference.) 

'See  Ibid.,  for  1876,  p.  14.    Compare  Ibid.,  for  1849,  p.  39. 

"Minutes  of  May  26,  1842. 

3Ibid.,  November  29. 

163 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

That  the  Corresponding  Secretary  be  instructed  to  consult 
with  the  Bishops  who  preside  in  the  approaching  Conferences 
with  a  view  to  procure  the  appointment  of  Agents  to  labor  in 
the  Cause  of  Sunday  Schools  and  to  raise  funds  for  the  Union. 

These  seem  not  to  have  been  appointed,  for  in  May  it  was  re- 
corded that  there  was  found  considerable  opposition  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  agents.  In  1849,  by  request  of  the  Conference  of 
North  Indiana,  the  bishop  appointed  an  agent  "to  travel  through- 
out the  bounds  of  the  Conference,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
in  the  organization  of  schools,  distributing  books  and  tracts, 
and  raising  moneys  for  the  publishing  fund."  144  This  work 
became  very  popular  and  in  some  aspects  partook  of  colporteur 
work.145 

The  report  of  1857146  set  forth  the  fact  that  the  Union  had 
depended  upon  the  itinerant  pastor  to  cover  all  fields  and  to 
act  as  organizer  for  the  Sunday  school  as  the  Discipline  directs 
him,  and  that  the  church  connectional  system  renders  other 
agents  unnecessary.  However,  it  adds: 

It  has,  nevertheless,  been  thought  best,  from  time  to  time, 
by  a  few  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  to  employ  special  agents.147 


"'Annual  Report  for  1849,  p.  22. 

"The  Minutes  of  January  25,  1847.  record  the  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion, "What  measures  can  be  adopted  to  employ  the  colporteur  system  in 
reference  to  the  circulation  of  the  Sabbath  School  Books  published  under 
the  direction  of  this  Society?" 

""Annual  Report  for  1857,  pp.  80,  81,  and  84. 

u7Of  the  many  reports  submitted  one  may  be  taken  as  typical : 

Report  of  Oni:  Agknt  in  Wisconsin 

Number  of  new  schools  formed 66 

scholars  in  the  new  schools 2,006 

officers  and  teachers 405 

old  schools  visited 69 

schools  reorganized 16 

The  total  amount  of  books  donated  to  schools $670. 83 

The  total  amount  of  books  sold  to  schools $1495.60 

Total  donated  and  sold $3,166.43 

164 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

This  has  been  done  chiefly  in  the  frontier  Conferences  where 
society  is  in  a  formative  state,  the  circuits  large,  the  preachers 
heavily  burdened  with  a  variety  of  labors,  and  the  community 
needs  to  be  vigorously  pressed  to  enlist  them  in  the  Sunday 
school  work.  An  old  Conference  has  also  occasionally  seen  a 
necessity  for  a  special  agent  to  breathe  new  life  into  its  Sunday 
school  interests  on  its  large  circuits,  and  at  points  barely  em- 
braced by  its  ministerial  arrangements. 

Necessity  was  felt  for  a  general  agent  of  the  Union  to  travel 
about,  holding  institutes  and  furthering  Sunday  school  interests. 
By  the  request  of  Dr.  Wise,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Vincent,  of  Chicago, 
was  so  appointed  early  in  i866.14S  His  leadership  in  the  Middle 
West  had  proven  his  skill  and  qualifications.  At  the  end  of  ten 
months  (December  31,  1866)  he  reported:149 

Sermons  preached 52 

Addresses   to   teachers 28 

Addresses   to   children 47 

Addresses  to  Conferences 24 

Number  of  volumes  donated 3,582 

sold 7,758 

Total  number  donated  and  sold 1 1,340 

Total  number  of  juvenile  collectors  that  have  collected  each  $3.00 
for  the  Sunday  School  Union,  and  are  life  members  of  the  Parent 

Society,   194;  making $582.00 

Collections  and  small  sums 144 .  01 

"           at  Conference 23 .  52 

Funds  on  hand  from  last  year 64.89 

Profits  on  books 216.64 

Total $1,031 .06 

Paid  out  for  printing  for  last  year,  and  freight  on  certificates $6.50 

Salary  of  agent 600.00 

Traveling  expenses 175.00 

Total   expenses $781 .  50 

Balance  on  hand 249.56 

S.  W.  Martin,  5".  5".  Agent. 

"8From  that  time  until  his  election,  as   Corresponding   Secretary,  Dr. 

Vincent  is  listed  in  the  Annual  Reports  as  "General  Agent." 
""Annual  Report  for  1866,  p.  19. 

165 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Addresses   to  conventions 7 

Conferences   visited    1 1 

Institutes  held   20 

Number  of  sessions,    (Institute) 75 

Number  of  miles  traveled 11,482 

It  was  as  the  outgrowth  of  these  ten  months'  work  that  the  Sun- 
day School  Normal  College  was  organized,  inasmuch  as  it 
seemed  wise  to  provide  for  the  connection  with  some  central 
body  of  the  local  classes  or  institutes  he  had  formed. 

In  addition  to  the  above  work  there  was  much  demand  for 
help  among  non-Americans  in  America.  The  following  resolu- 
tion expresses  the  temper  of  the  Union : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  Sabbath  school  department  of  our 
work,  we  will  labor  for  nothing  short  of  the  scriptural  education 
of  all  the  children  within  our  bounds,  and  that  we. have  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  practice  of  making  less  effort  to  secure  Sabbath 
school  instruction  to  the  children  of  Germans,  Irish,  Africans, 
or  other  foreigners,  than  those  of  American  parentage.150 

The  classes  served  were  Indians,  colored  people,  and  the  immi- 
grants. The  colored  Sunday  school  work  became  a  regular  part 
of  the  church  work,  but  to  the  Indians  and  immigrants  special 
attention  was  given.  The  German  work  soon  developed  to  the 
extent  of  a  demand  for  books  and  tracts  in  German.  This  was 
ordered  November  27,  1848.151  One  appeal  for  help  among  the 
Indians  is  illustrative  :152 

Burlington,  Calhoun  Co.,  Mich.. 

April  1,  1846. 

When  we  came  on  the  circuit,  in  a  remote  part  of  the  forest, 
we  found  a  tribe  of  Indians,  who  had  been  under  Catholic  influ- 
ence, to  whom  we  have  teen  preaching.  Eight  have  been  con- 
verted. Twenty  more  have  given  their  names  as  seekers  for  sal- 
Nation.     I  wish  you  would  send  a  few  books  for  these. 

X.  B.     Some  catechisms  would  be  profitable  for  the  Indians. 

""Annual  Report  for  1857,  p.  49. 

'"'See   Minutes. 

'"Annual  Report  for  1846,  p.  65. 
166 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Of  some  historic  interest  is  the  fact  reported  by  the  Meth- 
odist Sunday  School  Union : 

The  first  Sunday  school  ever  founded  in  California,  then  a 
province  of  Mexico,  was  established  by  Brother  Roberts,  on  his 
way  to  Oregon,  in  1846,  by  means  of  a  library  furnished  by  this 
Union. 

We  are  sorry  to  add,  that  our  second  supply  of  books  for 
the  Pacific  Coast,  sent  about  a  year  ago,  in  the  bark  Undine, 
were  damaged,  or  thrown  overboard,  in  a  gale  off  Cape  Horn. 
The  vessel  and  cargo  were  both  condemned  and  sold  at  Valpa- 
raiso, so  that  none  of  the  books  could  be  expected  to  reach  their 
destination. 

The  insurance,  however,  to  the  full  amount,  being  promptly 
paid,  they  were  resent,  with  additions,  in  the  bark  Whiton,  Cap- 
tain Gelston,  which  sailed  from  New  York  for  San  Francisco,  in 
November  last. 

An  additional  and  still  larger  supply  of  books  will  soon  be 
sent  to  California,  to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Owen,  one  of 
our  missionaries  to  that  territory.  Brother  Owen  proposes  to 
send  $2,000  worth  of  books  by  sea,  while  he  himself  goes  over- 
land, across  the  Rock).  Mountains.153 

The  work  among  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific  Coast  illustrates 
the  work  among  Oriental  immigrants  in  the  large  cities : 

In  July,  1866,  three  women,  members  of  the  Sixth  Street 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Sacramento  City,  after  an  abortive 
attempt  to  organize  classes  in  connection  with  the  Sabbath 
school,  bravely  undertook  to-  test  the  practicability  of  forming 
separate  schools  for  their  benefit.  ...  In  August,  1868,  the 
Rev.  Otis  Gibson,  who  had  spent  ten  laborious  years  in  the  mis- 
sion field  of  Foochow,  China,  came  to  us  charged  by  the  Mission- 
ary Board  with  the  care  and  management  of  this  great  interest. 

By  means  of  circulars,  correspondence,  and  personal  appeals 
from  the  pulpit  and  platform,  Brother  Gibson  has  succeeded  in 
procuring  the  establishment  of  schools  in  San  Francisco,  Sacra- 
mento, Stockton,  San  Jose,  Santa  Clara,  Grass  Valley,  Nevada, 
Marysville,  and  Santa  Cruz.  Also  one  in  Salem  and  two  in 
Portland,  Oregon.     These  schools  are  sustained  by  churches  of 


3Ibid.,  for  1848,  pp.  58,  59. 

167 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

different   denominations,   to   whose  pulpits  our  missionary  has 
been  given  the  freest  access.104 

The  Union  began  its  foreign  work  in  1847.  ^ts  work  in 
these  lands  has  been  of  the  same  character  as  that  in  America. 
It  has  become  indeed  a  foreign  missionary  organization  and 
operates  wherever  Methodism  has  gone.  By  January,  1851, 
there  were  a  German  Department,  a  Department  for  the  Swedish. 
Norwegian,  and  Danish,  and  a  Spanish  Department  for  New 
Mexico  and  California.155  A  few  illustrations  will  indicate  the 
amount  of  work  done. 

In  1887  the  Switzerland  Conference  reported:158 

Number  of  Schools,  180;  increase,  14;  Officers  and  Teach- 
ers, 935;  increase,  51;  Scholars,  12,255;  increase,  125;  Library 
Volumes,  6,649;  increase,  352. 

This  Conference  has  a  larger  number  of  scholars  by  1.663 
than  Germany,  and  as  its  membership  counts  5,634,  including 
996  probationers,  nearly  three  Sunday  school  scholars  have  to 
be  counted  to  one  member  in  full. 

In  1 89 1  the  German  assistant  secretary  reported  for  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  and  the  United  States  1,404  schools,  12,780 
officers  and  teachers,  and  799,987  scholars.157 


'"Sunday  School  Journal,  December,  1869,  pp.  53-55- 

'"Annual  Report  for  1850,  pp.  79-81. 

The  German  Methodists,  who  had  always  given  to  their  children  in- 
tensive Bible  and  catechetical  instruction,  developed  rapidly  the  Sunday 
school  work  in  both  the  United  States  and  Europe,  as  the  Annual  Reports 
after  1851  will  show.  The  names  of  William  Nast,  Ludwig  S.  Jacoby,  C.  H. 
Doering,  Henry  Nuelsen,  L.  Nippert  became  prominent.  The  Kinderfreund 
was  the  children's  publication  in  Germany.  Beginning  with  1884  a  German 
Assistant  Secretary  was  elected  and  was  listed  with  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Union  in  the  Annual  Reports.  Dr.  Henry  Liebhart  held  the 
office  from  1884  to  1895,  inclusive,  and  was  also  editor  of  the  German 
Sunday  school  publications,  to  which  office  he  had  been  elected  in  1872  (An- 
nual Report  for  1895,  p.  68).  The  two  duties  continue  to  be  discharged  by 
one  person  in  harmony  with  the  Disciplinary  regulation.  (1  472,  §  6,  1916 
Discipline.) 

'""Annual  Report,  for  1887,  p.  23. 

'"Ibid.,  for  [891,  p.  28. 

In  18C1  the  Conference  in  Germany  reported  that  often  the  State 
168 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

The  statistics  for  seven  years  of  work  in  Sweden  were:158 

Officers  and  Sunday  School 

Schools         Teachers  Scholars  Expenses 

1868  5  34  354  $46.06 

1869  12  no  1,021  88.34 

1870  20  114  1,278  125.76 

1871  36  180  1,777  IS5-96 

1872  45  183  1,954  272.97 

1873  62  238  2,506  467-15 

1874  81  291  3,396  780.18 

A  novel  service  rendered  was  that  of  the  Norwegian  Loan 
Library.  Books  in  their  languages  were  loaned  to  Norwegian 
and  Danish  sailors  for  use  while  at  sea,  a  number  of  libraries 
thus  being  kept  afloat  on  the  ocean.159 

In  1886  Japan  reported  54  schools,  188  officers  and  teach- 
ers, and  1,992  scholars.160 

One  Conference  alone  in  India  gives  the  following  report 
for  twenty-seven  years'  work  :161 

Schools      Scholars 

1861    3  170 

1863    9  397 

1868   31  860 

1873   104  4,540 

1878   164  6,907 

1883   430  17,366 

1888   703  26,585 

Of  these  Sunday  schools  (for  1888)  333  are  for  boys  only, 
218  for  girls  only,  and  152  for  both  sexes  together,  making  a 
total  of  703  schools.  Of  the  teachers  516  are  men  and  336  wo- 
men; total,  858.  Of  the  pupils  6,707  are  Christians,  3,896  of 
whom  are  males  and  2,811  females.  The  remainder,  19,878,  are 
Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  14,315  being  boys  and  5,563  girls. 

preachers  did  not  want  to  confirm  the  children  if  they  would  not  leave  the 
Methodist  schools,  and  the  public  school  teachers  would  order  those  chil- 
dren attending  Methodist  Sunday  schools  "to  sit  by  themselves,  that  they 
may  not  infect  the  others"  (Annual  Report  for  1861,  p.  20). 

16Tbid.,  for  1874,  p.  31. 

169Ibid.,  for  1885,  p.  70. 

160Ibid.,  for  1886,  p.  23. 

161Ibid.,  for  1889,  North  India  Conference,  p.  35. 
169 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

In  1888  there  were  in  foreign  lands  1,660  schools  and 
84,190  scholars.162 

This  work  carried  on  by  the  Union  as  an  organization  was 
shared  by  the  unit  Sunday  schools.  Missions  in  the  Sunday 
school  early  became  a  watchword.  In  1868  "Missionary  Cir- 
cles" were  planned  in  detail : 

1.  Each  class  in  the  school  shall  constitute  a  "Missionary 
Circle,"  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  missionary  funds. 

2.  The  officers  of  the  school  shall  also  constitute  such  a 
Circle. 

3.  These  Circles  shall  receive  appropriate  names  and 
mottoes. 

4.  The  teacher  of  each  class  shall  be  its  treasurer,  and  shall 
report  monthly  to  the  treasurer  the  amount  collected  in  his 
Circle. 

5.  The  pastor  shall  preside  at  all  missionary  meetings  held 
in  connection  with  the  school. 

6.  The  second  member  on  the  Missionary  Committee  shall 
be  "secretary,"  and  the  third  "treasurer"  for  the  United  Circle. 

7.  Meetings  shall  be  held  twice  during  each  quarter,  at 
such  times  as  the  Committee  shall  appoint.163 

The  beginning  of  the  Sunday  school's  giving  to  foreign 
missions  dates  so  far  into  the  past  that  no  record  of  it  remains. 
Not  until  1869  do  the  reports  in  the  General  Minutes  of  the 
church  distinguish  between  the  contributions  made  by  the  Sun- 
day school  and  those  given  by  the  church.  That  year  the  Sun- 
day school  offering  to  missions  was  $117,661.  For  the  quad- 
rennium  from  1904  to  1907  the  figures  reached  $2.057. 868.1M 

The  Sunday  school  has  aided  not  only  the  Home  and  Foreign 
Mission  Boards  in  their  work  but  the  Kducational  Board  as  well. 
In  the  Discipline  of  [8721M  we  read: 

In  order  that  the  church  may  provide  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  her  vouth : 


Annual  Report  for  1888,  p.  40. 
""Ibid.,  for  1868,  p.  98. 
"'Year  Book,   [915,  p.   171. 
1,3Part  IV,  Sec.  1. 


170 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

It  is  recommended  that  the  second  Sunday  in  June  be  every- 
where observed  as  Children's  Day,  that,  wherever  practicable,  a 
collection  be  taken  in  the  Sunday  school  in  aid  of  the  "Sunday- 
School  Fund"  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

This  Sunday  School  Fund,  collected  mostly  during  the  centen- 
ary year,  aggregating  about  $87,000  in  1872,  was  an  endowment, 
the  interest  of  which  is  to  help  needy  scholars  obtain  an  educa- 
tion. Additions  are  made  to  the  fund  each  Children's  Day. 
During  the  quadrennium  1908-1912  the  Children's  Day  collec- 
tion was  $330,060.19  and  the  following  four  years  (1912-1916) 
it  aggregated  $334,181.  io.166 

§11.    The  Climax  of  the  Period  in  the  New  Emphasis 
and  the  Graded  Lesson  Plan 

It  might  seem  that  Dr.  Gregory  was  speaking  at  the  opening 
of  the  twentieth  century  rather  than  thirty  years  before  when  he 
said: 

The  Sunday  school  is  not  an  isolated  and  eccentric  move- 
ment of  human  benevolence — the  mere  spasmodic  and  conta- 
gious effort  of  a  few  enthusiastic  men.  It  is  but  a  part — the  reli- 
gious part — of  that  great  movement  of  the  age  which  has  organ- 
ized the  common  school  system  of  the  world,  and  is  everywhere 
marshaling  the  forces  of  civilized  peoples  and  governments  for 
the  education  of  the  rising  generations.    .     .     . 

The  reforms  in  the  common  schools  lie  in  four  directions. 
They  seek,  1st,  to  provide  more  commodious  and  more  comfort- 
able rooms  and  better  furnishing  and  apparatus ;  2nd,  to  secure 
a  better  grading  or  classification  of  the  pupils  and  the  extension 
of  the  courses  of  study;  3d,  to  provide  better  qualified  teachers; 
and,  4th,  to  attain  better  and  more  systematic  methods  of  in- 
struction. And  these  are  evidently  the  directions  in  which  the 
reform  must  move  in  the  Sunday  school — in  which,  indeed,  it  is 
already  moving.167 

For  public  institutional  education  and  religious  education  as 
well,  a  biological  psychology  had  set  the  demands  and  deter- 

166Journal  of  General  Conference,  1916,  p.  1130. 

167Gregory,  J.  M.,  "The  Future  of  the  Sunday  School,"  Sunday  School 
Teacher,  vol.  ii,  1867,  pp.  172,  173. 

171 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

mined  the  method  of  procedure.  Both  must  be  pedagogical, 
scientific,  progressive.  Every  period  of  life  was  seen  to  have  its 
intrinsic  value,  its  normal  life,  and  had  a  right  to  consideration 
for  itself. 

The  changed  conception  of  the  child  determined  the  new 
method  to  be  used.  In  1873  Dr.  S.  A.  Jewett,  in  the  anniversary 
sermon,  set  forth  the  twentieth  century  thought  of  the  child : 

I  hold  it  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  incarnation  to  re- 
veal, in  this  perfect  type  of  humanity  which  the  life  of  Jesus 
gives,  the  natural  order  and  working  of  a  perfect  human  mind 
from  infancy  to  maturity.  ...  I  think,  then,  we  are  war- 
ranted in  expecting  that,  just  as  it  did  in  the  early  life  of  Jesus, 
so  in  every  child-life  the  grace  of  God  may  be  a  beautifying 
power  to  charm  men  with  its  loveliness,  to  elicit  the  love  of  angels 
and  win  the  approval  of  God.168 

Prophetic  of  our  day  was  a  sentence  in  the  Annual  Report  of 
1878: 

The  child  is  to  have  the  prominent  place  in  the  thought  and 
activity  of  the  church.  The  duty  of  the  hour  is  to  send  forth  a 
trumpet-call  to  renewed  and  intelligent  effort  in  behalf  of  child- 
hood.169 

The  years  1890- 1908  were  years  of  real  fruitage.  They 
registered  the  positive  results  of  the  previous  decades  of  hard, 
earnest  toil  and  the  efforts  to  apply  new  methods  to  the  task  of 
Christian  education.  If  the  Sunday  school  marked  in  1908  a 
vital  advance,  it  was  because  courageous  men  whose  souls  sought 
the  upland  pathways  of  progress  kept  their  vision  upon  the  goal 
of  that  new  day.  One  name  leads  all  the  rest,  the  name  of  Vin- 
cent, the  hero  of  many  Struggles  and  the  fearless  leader  in  the 
Sunday  school  propagandism  of  his  half  century  of  service. 

Two  organized  agencies  made  impossible  the  postponing  of 
the  day  of  a  classified  curriculum.  The  oldest  was  the  Interna- 
tional Primary  Union,  which  constantly  insisted  that  little  chil- 
dren should  have  a  curriculum  of  their  own.     At  its  request, 


Annual  Report  for  1873,  p.  12. 
"Ibid.,  for  1878,  pp.  16,  17. 


17-s 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

and  with  the  cooperation  of  its  officers  and  committees,  the 
Lesson  Committee  of  the  International  Sunday  School  move- 
ment issued  in  1895  a  separate  Primary  Course.  Beginners' 
Courses  followed  in  1901  and  1903.  In  1906  a  group  of  Ele- 
mentary Workers  was  gathered  together  by  Mrs.  J.  W.  Barnes 
and  organized  into  "The  Graded  Lesson  Conference"  with  the 
approval  of  the  International  Executive  Committee.  On  the 
basis  of  the  best  approved  principles  they  constructed  lessons  for 
each  grade  of  Beginners',  Primary,  and  Junior  Departments, 
which  work  was  recommended  by  the  subcommittee  on  Primary 
Lessons  of  the  International  Lesson  Committee  to  the  Louisville 
convention  in  1908.  This  Louisville  convention  instructed  the 
Lesson  Committee  to  prepare  a  graded  course  covering  the 
entire  range  of  the  Sunday  school.170 

The  second  large  agency  that  ministered  toward  a  new  cur- 
riculum for  the  Sunday  school  was  the  Religious  Education 
Association  organized  in  1890.  It  gave  by  its  discussions  and 
study  the  large  foundations,  psychologically  and-  pedagogically, 
to  the  Sunday  school  agitations. 

The  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations 
(1910),  into  which  was  merged  the  efficient  Sunday  School 
Editorial  Association,  later  took  vigorous  hold  of  the  problems 
of  the  Sunday  school. 

During  the  discussions  of  these  decades  the  Sunday  school 
forces  were  divided  in  judgment  and  some  leaders  and  most  of 
the  publishers  were  cautious  and  conservative.  Dr.  John  T.  Mc- 
Farland,  corresponding  secretary  and  editor  of  Sunday  School 
Publications  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union,  from  1904 
to  1908,  from  the  time  of  his  induction  into  office,  advocated  a 
graded  curriculum  for  the  Sunday  school  and  at  once  began  aid- 
ing in  the  planning  of  such  a  one.  In  1907  he  brought  the  ques- 
tion before  the  Book  Committee  and  from  them  received  author- 
ity to  proceed  in  the  matter  and  to  secure  such  a  graded  curriculum 


""See  VII.     Rise   and   Growth   of  the   Graded   Lessons,   pp.   386ff.    in 
Organized  Sunday  School  Work  in  America,  1911-1014. 

173 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

as  would  be  acceptable  to  the  Methodist  constituency.171  At  the 
International  Sunday  School  Convention  in  Louisville,  1908,  the 
Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  through  Dr.  McFarland  spoke 
with  emphasis  in  favor  of  the  graded  lessons,  serving  notice  that 
unless  complete  graded  courses  were  prepared  Methodism  would 
prepare  its  own.  That  very  year  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  reported  34,663  schools  with  3,071,087  scholars,  155,339 
of  whom  had  been  converted  during  the  year.  And  this  was 
Methodism's  large  concern  and  the  basis  of  her  insistence.  As 
controlling  the  largest  Sunday  school  constituency  in  America 
Dr.  McFarland  was  in  a  position  to  speak  a  very  persuasive 
word.  Becoming  sponsor  for  the  new  departure,  he  made  pos- 
sible the  rapid  development  of  the  graded  lesson  plan  by  his 
close  cooperation  with  Mrs.  J.  W.  Barnes,  the  real  Nestor  of 
the  Graded  System,172  and  her  colaborers  in  the  elementary  field. 
After  the  indorsement  of  the  new  lesson  plan  by  the  Louisville 
convention,  Dr.  McFarland  hastened  to  secure  Mrs.  Barnes' 
services  as  supervisor  of  elementary  instruction  and  member  of 
the  editorial  staff  of  the  Sunday  School  Board,  thus  giving  her 
the  opportunity  for  the  full  expression  of  the  plans  she  had 
taken  years  to  develop. 

Under  such  leadership  as  that  of  Dr.  McFarland,  Meth- 
odism took  very  advanced  steps  in  Sunday  school  legislation. 
The  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  May,  1908,  created 
"The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  which  was  organized  July,  1908,  with  a  correspond- 
ing secretary  as  administrative  head  and  an  editor  of  Sunday 


"'Statement  of  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Literature  to  the  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools,  January,  1909. 

172  "In  October,  1906,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Barnes,  with  the  approval  of  the  In- 
ternational Executive  Committee,  gathered  together  a  group  of  elemental*] 
workers  and  organized  what  was  later  known  as  'The  Graded  Lesson  Con- 
ference,' which  began  the  construction,  on  the  best-approved  principles,  of 
graded  lessons  for  each  grade,  from  the  Primary  to  the  Senior  Departments 
of  the  Sunday  School"  (Organized  Sunday  School  Work  in  America, 
1911-1914,  p.  387). 

174 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

School  Publications.  From  1844  to  1908  both  offices  were  held 
by  one  person  with,  however,  a  very  definitely  marked  division 
of  labor  between  that  of  the  duties  as  editor  and  the  duties  as 
administrator.  As  the  Sunday  school  work  rapidly  expanded 
there  came  the  necessity  of  a  division  between  the  extension  and 
promotion  activities  and  the  editorial  work  of  curriculum  and  lit- 
erature. This  the  General  Conference  provided  for  in  its  legisla- 
tion of  1908,  Dr.  J.  T.  McFarland,  the  former  corresponding 
secretary,  taking  the  position  of  editor  of  Sunday  School  Publica- 
tions, and  Dr.  David  G.  Downey  being  elected  corresponding 
secretary.  The  editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications  became 
in  1916  the  chairman  of  the  Curriculum  Committee  of  the  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools. 


17$ 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  NEW  ORGANIZATION  AND  ITS  ADVANCE, 
1908-1916 

§    1.    The  Emphasis  of  the  New   Organization 

"The  Sunday  School  Renaissance"  was  the  heading  of 
the  record  of  the  quadrennium's  advance  under  the  new  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools  as  given  in  Dr.  David  G.  Downey's  report 
before  the  General  Conference  of  1912.1  The  figures  showed 
the  increase  of  schools  to  be  1,366;  of  officers  and  teachers. 
13,164;  of  total  enrollment,  656,954;  and  that  the  Methodist 
Sunday  school  host  had  reached  beyond  the  four-million  line 
( 4,003,4 1  o).2  The  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  new  Board 
and  the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  set  forth  the  following 
object  significant  for  a  vital  forward  movement : 

The  objects  for  which  it  is  formed  are  to  found  Sunday 
schools  in  needy  neighborhoods ;  to  contribute  to  the  support  1  if 
Sunday  schools  which  without  assistance  cannot  continue;  to 
educate  the  church  in  all  phases  of  Sunday  school  work,  con- 
stantly endeavoring  to  raise  ideals,  and  to  improve  methods, 
and  to  give  impulse  and  direction  in  general  to  the  study  of  the 
Bible  by  the  church.3 

The  General  Conference  of  1912  added: 

"To   determine   the    Sunday   school    curriculum,    including   the 
courses  for  teacher  training." 

The  Sunday  school  as  an  institution  for  "the  study  of  the 
Bible  by  the  church"  meant  a  great  advance  in  the  adult  and 
teen-age  classes,  as  the  eight  years'  record  conclusively  proves, 


'General  Conference  Journal,  1912,  p.  1235. 

2Ibid. 

"Ibid.,  p.  1228. 

176 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

15,382  adult  and  teen-age  classes  being  enrolled  by  the  Board 
and  given  certificates  of  recognition.4  This  indicates  somewhat 
Methodism's  part  in  the  general  movement  of  Adult  Bible  Study. 
In  1914  the  Methodist  Brotherhood  was  correlated  tentatively 
with  the  Adult  Department  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  the 
secretary  of  the  Brotherhood  becoming  the  superintendent  of 
the  Adult  Department.5  This  action  was  ratified  by  the  General 
Conference  in  1916. 

But  the  Sunday  school  for  the  child  was  still  the  central 
idea.  The  general  secretary  of  the  Board  in  speaking  of  Sunday 
School  Day  (the  first  Sunday  of  October),  set  apart  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  be  observed  by  the  entire  church,  said : 

The  main  purpose  of  the  day  is  educational,  inspirational, 
and  spiritual.  On  that  day  the  gospel  of  the  Sunday  school,  the 
importance  of  the  child,  is  to  be  proclaimed  from  every  pulpit 
and  should  be  emphasized  in  every  home.6 

Speaking  of  "The  Child  and  the  Kingdom"  the  same  author 
wrote : 

Are  you  alive  to  the  spiritual  import  and  possibility  of  the 
child?  To  bring  the  child  to  the  experience  of  spiritual  con- 
sciousness and  to  the  expression  of  that  consciousness  in  word 
and  deed  is  the  supreme  opportunity  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ.7 

§  2.   The  Goal  of  the  Movement 

The  Board  was  charged  with  a  distinctively  educational 
function  by  the  General  Conference  in  the  words,  "to  educate 
the  church,"  "to  raise  ideals,"  and  "to  improve  methods."  Early 
in  the  first  quadrennium  it  sought  to  standardize  Methodist  Sun- 
day schools  by  adopting  certain  requirements  of  excellence8 
which  crystallized  into  the  following: 


4Ibid.,  1916,  p.  1233. 
"Ibid.,  p.  1246. 

"Dr.  David  G.  Downey,  The  Epworth  Herald,  June  5,  1909,  p.  4. 
See  Discipline  for  1916,  11  480,  §  6. 
TIbid.,  p.  1. 

"General  Conference  Journal,  1912,  pp.  1233,  1234. 
177 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Organization. — Every  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school 
should  have  the  following  departments : 

AGE 

Cradle  Roll  i,  2 

Beginners'   Department    3,  4,  5 

Primary  Department    6,  7,  8 

Junior    Department    9,   10,   11,   12 

Intermediate   Department    13,   14,   15,   16 

Senior   Department    17,   18,   19,  20 

Adult   Department    Over  20 

(a)  One  or  more  Organized  Adult  Bible  Classes. 

(b)  Teacher  Training  Department  with  teachers  or  mem- 
bers engaged  in  the  study  of  Correspondence  Courses  in  teacher- 
training,  or  with  a  teacher  training  class  pursuing  an  approved 
course  of  study. 

Home  Department. 

A  Sunday  School  Missionary  Organization. 

A  Sunday  School  Temperance  Organization. 

A  Committee  on  Sunday  School  Evangelism,  with  the  ob- 
servance of  Decision  Day  or  its  equivalent. 

Annual  Promotion  Day,  on  which  scholars  are  promoted 
•from  grade  to  grade  and  department  to  department  according  to 
some  definitely  determined  plan. 

Lesson  Helps. — Every  school  should  use  the  Lesson  Helps 
authorized  by  our  General  Conference  and  published  by  our 
Book  Concern,  wherever  possible  the  new  Graded  Lessons.  (If 
for  any  reason  it  is  deemed  inexpedient  at  present  to  adopt  the 
Graded  Lessons,  the  Uniform  Lessons  may  be  used.  In  the 
latter  case  supplemental  lessons  should  be  taught  in  the  first  four 
departments.) 

Rally  Day. — Every  school  should  observe  Sunday  School 
Rally  Day,  at  which  time  an  offering  should  be  taken  for  the 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  as  authorized  by  the  General  Con- 
ference.9 

To  make  possible  the  attaining  of  the  goals  set  certain  vital 
questions  took  first  rank — curricula,  teacher  training,  institutes, 
publications,  reports,  agencies  for  extension  work. 

"General  Conference  Journal,  pp.  U44,  1245. 

In  1917  the  new  classification  adopted  by  the  Board  was  as  follows: 
Junior  Department  9-1 1,  Intermediate  12-14,  Seivor  15-17,  Youiik  People's 
18  to  not  over  24,  Adult  25  and  over. 

178 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

§  3.  The  Extension  and  Promotion  Work 
In  January,  1909,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools,  Dr.  David  G.  Downey,  in  cooperation  with  Dr. 
J.  T.  McFarland,  undertook  the  publishing  of  a  correspondence 
course  for  teacher  training.  This  was  developed  department- 
ally.10  The  plan  of  teacher  training  included  courses  in  con- 
nection with  the  Senior  Department  of  any  local  Sunday  school 
(years  2  to  4)11  and  special  training  classes  pursuing  the  courses 
as  outlined  by  the  Board.  Between  1908  and  1916  nearly  50,000 
teachers  were  enrolled  in  teacher  training.12  During  1916  there 
were  1,098  training  classes  with  13,938  members.13 

Much  of  the  Sunday  school  revival  of  the  two  quadren- 
niums  was  due  to  systematically  planned  institutes.14  During 
19 16  the  Board  conducted  71  institutes  in  17  states  and  28  dif- 
ferent conferences.15 

One  of  the  largest  agencies  of  standardization  is  the  quar- 
terly report  required  of  the  superintendent  of  each  local  Sunday 
school.  The  General  Conference  of  19 16  elaborated  this  to 
include  answers  to  nineteen  questions.16 

The  By-Laws  of  the  Board  as  adopted  in  1908  required  a 
Department  of  Extension.17  In  1916  the  Board  was  supporting 
twenty- four  missionaries  and  special  workers  in  the  United 
States  that  were  devoting  all  of  their  time  to  the  organization  of 
new  schools  and  the  strengthening  of  needy  ones.  The  report 
reads : 


"Epworth  Herald,  June  6,  1909,  pp.  5,  9.  General  Conference  Journal, 
1912,  pp.  1243,  1244. 

"The  Sunday  School  Journal,  September,  1916,  pp.  661-663. 

"General  Conference  Journal,   1916,  p.   1233. 

"Annual  Report  of  Corresponding  Secretary  to  the  Board,  Year  Book, 
1916,  p.  41. 

"General  Conference  Journal,  1912,  pp.  1245-1248;  1916,  pp.  1231,  1232. 

"Pittsburgh  Christian  Advocate,  March  1,  1917,  p.  17. 

Also  Annual  Report  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary  to  the  Board, 
Year  Book,  1916,  p.  50. 

"General  Conference  Journal,  1916,  pp.  662,  663.    Also  see  Appendix  II. 

"Ibid.,  1912,  p.  1231. 

179 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

In  less  than  eight  years  these  splendid  workers  have  or- 
ganized 2,360  new  Sunday  schools,  from  which  616  church 
organizations  have  been  developed,  and  295  churches  and  par- 
sonages built,  at  a  valuation  of  $486,500.  For  every  $1,000  that 
we  have  expended  on  our  extension  work  we  have  given  to  the 
church  ten  and  one  third  new  Sunday  schools,  nearly  two  new 
church  organizations,  one  and  one  half  church  buildings,  and 
approximately  $2,000  in  property  value.18 

The  extension  of  Sunday  school  work  in  other  countries  was 
organized  under  a  Foreign  Department.  In  1916  seventeen  per- 
sons were  supported  by  the  Board  in  Sunday  school  work  in 
foreign  fields. 

1916  witnessed  a  reorganization  of  the  American  Section 
of  the  World's  Executive  Committee.  The  agreement  of  the 
constituent  bodies  was  to  the  effect 

that  one  half  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Sec- 
tion of  the  World's  Association  shall  hereafter  be  composed  of 
denominational  representatives,  twelve  of  these  representatives 
from  the  Foreign  Mission  Conference,  which  represents  all  the 
Mission  Boards,  and  six  from  the  Sunday  School  Council  of 
Evangelical  Denominations,  which  represents  ninety-three  per 
cent  of  the  Sunday  school  membership  of  the  country.  The 
other  eighteen  representatives  upon  the  American  Committee 
will  be  nominated  as  heretofore  by  the  triennial  Sunday  School 
Convention,  held  at  different  world  centers,  and  the  convention 
is  to  be  recognized  as  the  authority  in  the  affairs  of  the  Asso- 
ciation.19 

The  pushing  of  missionary  education  and  benevolence  in  local 
Sunday  schools  under  the  direction  of  a  Department  of  Mission- 
ary Education  created  in  191 2,  marks  one  of  the  large  advances 
of  the  past  four  years.  The  missionary  offerings  show  an  in- 
crease of  sixteen  per  cent  over  the  previous  four  years.20  To 
provide  for  the  financial  obligations  of  the  Board  of  Sunday 


"General  Conference  Journal,  1916,  p.  1240. 
'World-Wide   Sunday   School   News,   March,   1916. 
"General  Conference  Journal,  1010,  p.  1234. 
180 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Schools,  besides  the  regular  collections  from  each  church,  the 
General  Conference  of  1912  had  ordered  ten  per  cent  of  the 
regular  Sunday  school  missionary  offerings  paid  to  the  Board. 
Some  people  had  feared  that  this  division  of  funds  would  cripple 
in  a  measure  the  Boards  of  Home  and  Foreign  Missions  that  had 
been  up  to  that  time  the  recipients  of  the  entire  Sunday  school 
missionary   collection. 

In  191 2  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  presented  to  the 
church  through  Dr.  Edgar  Blake,  its  secretary,  a  challenging  plan 
of  organization : 

The  work  of  the  Board  is  divided  among  the  following 
departments :  Administration,  Elementary,  Teen  Age,  Adult, 
Teacher  Training,  Missionary  Education,  Institute,  Extension, 
and  Foreign.  Each  department  is  under  a  superintendent  who  is 
responsible  for  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  department 
intrusted  to  his  direction,  with  the  correspondent  secretary  hav- 
ing immediate  supervision  of  those  matters  not  committed  to  the 
departments,  and  a  general  responsibility  for  the  entire  work  of 
the  Board.  We  have  followed  the  principle  of  centralization  of 
responsibility  in  one  general  administrative  officer,  with  a  distri- 
bution of  responsibility  among  departmental  heads  who  are  spe- 
cialists in  their  particular  fields  of  administration.21 

Of  these  departments  the  last  quadrennium  saw  installed — the 
Elementary  Department  (1915),  the  Teen  Age  Department 
(1915),  the  Missionary  Education  Department  (1913),  and  the 
Foreign  Department  (1914).  While  the  work  covered  by  these 
departments  had  been  carried  on  successfully  before,  the  present 
organization  has  been  recently  developed  for  the  sake  of  greater 
efficiency.  Other  special  features  are  worthy  of  note  in  the 
aggressive  campaign  carried  on  by  the  Board :  the  printing  of 
leaflets  covering  the  work  and  methods  of  each  department,  so 
priced  as  to  be  within  the  range  of  even  the  poorest  school; 
emphasis  upon  the  dividing  of  the  Teen  Age  into  Intermediate, 
Senior,  and  Young  People's  groups  with  separate  organizations 


'Report  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary"  to  the  Board,  1916,  p.  6. 
181 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

and  fitting  nomenclature;  careful  adjustment  of  the  work  of  the 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  to  other  boards  of  the  church  and 
their  activities.  The  following  arrangement  was  ratified  by  the 
1916  General  Conference  relative  to  foreign  work: 

( 1 )  We  recognize  the  advisability  and  need  of  bringing 
into  the  service  of  the  foreign  field  the  resources  and  services  of 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 
and  the  Board  of  Education. 

(2)  We  recognize  the  primacy  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  in  the  foreign  field  and  that  the  activities  of  the  fore- 
going agencies  are  supplementary  to  and  are  to  be  correlated 
with  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

(3)  The  functions  of  the  several  supplementary  agencies 
are  defined  as  follows : 

(a)  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  shall  be  responsible  for 
such  publishing  plants  and  equipment,  and  in  such  manner,  as 
may  be  mutually  agreed  upon  between  The  Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  for  the  manu- 
facture and  marketing  of  such  publications  as  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions  and  its  committee  may  decide  in  consultation  with 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern  representatives. 

(b)  The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  shall  be  responsible  for 
such  grants  and  aid  as  may  be  necessary  to  provide  lesson  helps, 
supplies,  etc.,  for  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  foreign  field  and 
shall  be  responsible  for  the  support  and  general  direction  of 
such  special  Sunday  school  workers  as  the  joint  commission 
may  authorize;  said  workers  shall  be  missionaries  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  and  shall  have  in  all  respects  the  status  of 
regular  missionaries.  It  shall  also  be  responsible  for  the  formu- 
lation of  lesson  courses  for  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  foreign 
field  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  joint  commission. 

(c)  The  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications  shall  be 
responsible  for  the  preparation  of  the  lesson  treatment  of  such 
courses  and  textbooks  as  may  be  approved  by  the  joint  commis- 
sion, said  lesson  preparation  and  textbooks  to  be  subject  to 
adaptation  by  the  responsible  committees  of  the  several  fields. 

(d)  The  Board  of  Education  shall  have  an  advisory  rela- 
tion to  the  educational  work  on  the  foreign  field.  It  .shall  In- 
responsible  for  all  possible  assistance  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  in  organizing  and  promoting  the  educational  work 
abroad  and  in  helping  to  make  it  as  strong  ami  efficient  as  the 

182 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

educational  work  of  the  church  in  the  United  States.  It  shall 
not,  however,  undertake  separate  campaigns  for  work,  such  as 
college  endowment  and  equipment  of  institutions  in  the  foreign 
field,  nor  shall  it  appoint  separate  agents  or  formulate  policies 
for  the  foreign  field  except  in  consultation  and  cooperation  with 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  but  it  may  cooperate  to  the  full- 
est extent  in  the  prosecution  of  campaigns  or  policies  projected 
by  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  and  approved  by  the  joint 
commission  herein  provided. 

(4)  That  a  joint  commission  shall  be  created  to  decide  all 
matters  of  policy  and  ah  interests  affecting  these  several  cooper- 
ating agencies  or  any  of  them.  This  Commission  shall  have  no 
authority  to  expend  funds,  except  on  authorization  of  the  Boards 
involved.  This  commission  shall  be  created  as  follows :  Eight 
from  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions;  three  from  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern;  and  two  each  from  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools 
and  the  Board  of  Education. 

(5)  We  recognize  the  inadvisability  of  competitive  appeals 
for  the  foreign  field  and  agree  upon  the  following: 

(a)  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  shall  finance  its  work 
from  its  regular  funds. 

(b)  The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  shall  finance  its  work 
from  its  share  of  the  Sunday  School  missionary  offerings. 

(c)  The  Board  of  Education  shall  finance  its  work.22 

The  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  and 
the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  are  jointly  holding  conferences 
on  the  rural  problem.  These  two  Boards  are  consulting  together 
relative  to  a  combined  effort  in  the  experiment  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Architecture. 

The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  the  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions and  Church  Extension,  and  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 
sharing  in  the  missionary  collection  of  the  Sunday  school  in  the 
ratio  of  forty-five  per  cent,  forty- five  per  cent  and  ten  per  cent, 
respectively,  since  the  1912  General  Conference,  have  cooperated 
in  attempting  to  organize  a  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society  in 
every  church  in  Methodism  and  in  seeking  to  increase  the  Sun- 


"General  Conference  Journal,   1916,  pp.  716-718. 
183 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

day  school  contributions  to  missions.  The  following  figures  are 
convincing:  The  missionary  offering  of  the  Sunday  school  for 
three  quadrenniums  was23 

1904-07    $2,057,868 

1908-1 1     2,169,464 

i9I2-J5    2,527,032 

The  total  offerings  of  the  Sunday  schools  to  the  missionary  and 
benevolent  enterprises  of  the  church  were  more  than  five  and  a 
half  million  dollars  from  1908  to  1915.24 

The  Sunday  School  Board  through  the  Grant  Department 
has  during  the  years  1908  to  1915  issued  5,514  grants  to  needy 
Sunday  schools  at  an  expenditure  of  $42,119.29.  During  the 
year  191 5  it  issued  545  grants  in  aid  in  96  Annual  Conferences 
at  an  expenditure  for  the  year  of  $3,8oo.64.25 

The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  is  uniting  with  a  similar 
board  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South,  in  preparing  uniform 
courses  of  teacher  training. 

Three  experiments  are  attracting  much  attention — a  school 
of  week-day  religious  instruction  known  as  the  Gary  plan,  enroll- 
ing in  the  last  month  in  1916  one  hundred  and  twenty  children; 
a  rural  experiment  in  Northern  Ohio;  and  the  organizing  of  the 
previously  referred  to  Department  of  Sunday  School  Archi- 
tecture, with  its  model  plans  for  churches  costing  from  $1,500 
to  $  1 50,000. 20 

The  Sunday  school  movement27  faces  the  future  with  a  de- 


MYear  Book,  1915,  p.  171.  Compare  with  General  Conference  Journal, 
1916,  p.  1231. 

"General  Conference  Journal,  1916,  p.  1230. 

"Leaflet  entitled  A  Ministry  to  the  Needy. 

""Western  Christian  Advocate,  February  31,  1917,  p.  182.  Also  "Annual 
Report  of  Corresponding  Secretary"  to  the  Board,  Year  Book.  [916,  pp.  08-80. 

''The  serious  purpose  in  this  undertaking  is  in  part  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  from  1902  to  1917  the  number  of  those  giving  full  time  to  the 
office  work  in  relation  to  the  Sunday  school  movement  increased  from  ie\  en 
to  about  one  hundred. 

184 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

termined  plan  and  an  unmistakable  goal.    The  program  of  stand- 
ardization reads  as  follows: 

AIM: 

1 .  To  win  every  available  member  of  the  community  to  the  Sunday  school. 

2.  To  win  the  members  of  the  Sunday  school  to  Christ  and  the  church; 
to  instruct  and  train  them  for  intelligent  and  effective  Christian  living. 

MEANS : 

i.     Graded  Organization. 

(Grouping  by  age,  interest  and  capacity.) 

2.  Graded  Instruction. 

(Graded  lessons  and  graded  methods  of  instruction.) 

3.  Trained  Teachers  and  Officers. 

(Every  teacher  and  officer  a  student  or  a  graduate  of   an  approved 
training  course.) 

4.  Continuous   Evangelism. 

5.  Graded  Service  Activities. 

6.  Organization  for  Systematic  Missionary  Instruction  and  Giving. 

7.  Regular  Church  Attendance. 

8.  Annual  Rally  Day  and  Offering  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 

PRODUCT : 

The  measure  of  a  school's  efficiency  is  the  character  of  its  product.     The 
following  tests  should,  therefore,  be  applied  constantly : 

1.  Is  the  interest  of  the  pupils  in  the  school  increasing?    Does  this  mani- 
fest itself  in  an  increasing  average  attendance? 

2.  Is  their  knowledge  of  the  Bible  growing? 

3.  Is  their  devotional  life  steadily  developing? 

4.  Do  they  show  increasing  interest  and  efficiency  in  Christian  service? 

5.  Is  the  school  increasing  the  number  of  its  trained  workers? 


A  school  will  attain  this  Standard  when  it  accepts  these  aims,  uses  these 
means  and  measures  its  product  by  these  tests.38 

§  4.    The  Curriculum  and  Literature  Plans 

The  Sunday  school  at  its  heart  is  the  question  of  curricula 
and  literature.  The  curriculum  of  the  Sunday  school  is  not  a 
denominational  matter.  The  first  International  Lesson  Com- 
mittee was  appointed  in  1872  by  the  Fifth  Sunday  School  Con- 
vention at  which  were  present  representatives  from  Canada, 
Great  Britain,  and  India.  The  Seventh  Convention  (1878)  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  approved  the  new  uniform  lessons  entitled  The 
International  Uniform  Bible  Lessons.  The  Lesson  Committee 
has  not  been  during  any  of  this  time  amenable  to  the  denomina- 
tions represented.  April  22  to  23,  1914,  The  Sunday  School 
Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations  and  the  Executive  Com- 

^Leaflet,  A  Standard  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  School,  p.  2. 
185 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

mittee  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  held  a 
joint  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  method  of  elect- 
ing the  International  Sunday  School  Lesson  Committee.  The 
following  agreement  was  entered  into  and  ratified  later  by  both 
bodies  represented : 

The  following  general  principles  concerning  the  prepara- 
tion of  Lesson  Courses  were  agreed  to : 

ist.  Unity  of  Lesson  Courses  with  denominational  freedom 
for  any  desired  modification. 

2d.  The  joint  selection  of  all  Courses  on  the  part  of  the 
International  Sunday  School  Association,  the  Sunday  School 
Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations  and  Denominational 
Agencies. 

3d.  All  Lesson  Courses  shall  be  available  for  all  publishing 
houses. 

The  following  action  was  then  agreed  to  concerning  the  or- 
ganization and  work  of  the  Lesson  Committee : 

ist.  That  the  International  Sunday  School  Lesson  Com- 
mittee be  created  as  follows  : 

1  a  )  Eight  members  to  be  selected  by  the  International  Sun- 
day School  Asociation. 

(b)  Eight  members  to  be  selected  by  the  Sunday  School 
Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations. 

(c)  One  member  to  be  selected  by  each  denomination  repre- 
sented in  the  Sunday  School  Council  now  having,  or  that  in  the 
future  may  have,  a  Lesson  Committee. 

2d.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Lesson  Committee  thus 
elected  to  construct  lesson  courses,  to  be  submitted  to  the  vari- 
ous denominations,  subject  to  such  revision  and  modification  as 
each  denomination  may  desire  to  make,  in  order  to  adapt  the 
courses  to  its  own  denominational  needs. 

3d  No  course  shall  be  promulgated  or  discontinued  by  the 
Lesson  Committee  unless  the  action  is  approved  by  a  majority 
of  the  members  of  each  of  the  three  sections  of  the  committee. 

4th.  The  Lesson  Committee  shall  be  created  not  Liter  than 
July  i,  1914,  and  the  Lesson  Courses  constructed  by  it  shall  take 
effect  at  the  close  of  the  present  cycle  of  Uniform  Lessons  end- 
ing I  December,  101  ~. 

5th.  Beginning  July  ist,  [914,  the  members  of  the  sections 
of  the  Lesson  Committee  representing  the  International  Associa- 
tion and  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denomina- 
te 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

tions  shall  be  elected,  one  half  for  a  period  of  three  years  and 
one  half  for  a  period  of  six  years,  and  thereafter  for  periods  of 
six  years.  The  representatives  of  the  denominations  shall  be 
elected  for  a  period  of  three  years.29 

The  important  change  directed  toward  a  more  specifically 
denominational  representation  is  aiding  greatly  in  the  present 
Sunday  school  revival. 

The  General  Conference  of  19 12  made  it  the  duty  of  the 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  to  determine  the  curriculum  for  Meth- 
odist Sunday  schools.  In  harmony  with  that  action  the  Board 
created  a  "Standing  Committee  on  Lesson  Courses."  The  pub- 
lishing agents,  representatives  of  the  Editorial  Office,  the  chair- 
man of  the  Lesson  Course  Committee  and  the  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Board  met  on  November  20,  1913,  to  consider 
lesson  courses.     They  passed  the  following  resolution: 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  General  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  made  it  the  duty  of  the  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools  to  determine  the  lesson  courses  for  our  de- 
nomination, and  since  that  Board  is  engaged  in  the  preparation 
of  such  courses,  it  is  the  sense  of  the  representatives  that  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  preparation  of  the  present  cycle  of  uniform 
lessons  (1912-1917)  the  Methodist  Church  should  assume  full 
responsibility  for  the  preparation  of  lesson  courses  to  be  used  in 
its  Sunday  Schools. 

Concerning  the  future  policy  of  our  denomination,  we  ex- 
press the  desire  and  purpose  to  cooperate,  so  far  as  practicable, 
with  all  evangelical  denominational  agencies  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  lesson  courses  to  the  end  that  a  curriculum  may 
be  created  that  will  fully  meet  the  demand  for  lessons  in  har- 
mony with  the  progress  being  made  in  the  field  of  religious  edu- 
cation, especially  as  illustrated  in  the  spirit  of  interdenomina- 
tional cooperation  expressed  in  the  organization  of  the  Sunday 
School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations,  the  Federal 
Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  and  other  represent- 
ative movements.30 

The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


20Organized  Sunday  School  Work  in  America,  1911-14,  p.  390. 
30Year  Book,  1913,  p.  36. 

187 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Church  at  their  191 5  annual  meeting  instructed  their  Committee 
on  Curriculum  to  prepare  a  departmental  system  of  instruction 
that  would  provide  separate  lesson  courses  for  each  of  the  four 
major  departments  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  thought  was  to 
substitute  this  departmental  system  for  the  International  Uni- 
form Lessons  at  the  end  of  the  current  cycle  (December,  191 7). 
The  reorganization  of  the  International  Lesson  Committee,  as 
mentioned  above,  gave  to  the  denominational  boards  and  edi- 
torial department  direct  representation.  The  reorganized  com- 
mittee included  three  members  from  the  Methodist  Sunday  school 
staff,  the  corresponding  secretary,  Dr.  Edgar  Blake,  the  editor 
of  Sunday  school  publications,  Dr.  Henry  H.  Meyer,  and  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Barnes,  the  elementary  specialist. 

These  adjustments  in  the  interdenominational  machinery 
for  lesson  making  opened  the  way  for  the  adoption  of  a  new 
policy  and  program  in  the  preparation  of  lesson  courses  for 
Protestant  Sunday  schools  under  interdenominational  auspices. 
The  Methodist  representatives  on  the  International  Committee 
therefore  entered  heartily  into  the  spirit  and  work  of  this  new 
program  of  cooperation,  with  a  view  to  obtaining  through  this 
larger  cooperative  channel  the  departmental  system  of  lesson-. 
the  preparation  of  which  had  been  already  authorized  by  our 
Board. 

The  result  of  this  cooperation  is  the  new  system  of  Im- 
proved Uniform  Lessons  (or  Departmental  LTniform  Lessons), 
which  provides  a  common  theme,  Bible  passage,  and  Golden 
Text  for  the  whole  school,  and  for  various  departments  of  the 
school  a  separate  subject  and  additional  biblical  material  closely 
related  to  the  common  theme  for  the  day  but  better  suited  to  the 
age  group  represented  in  each  department.31 

The  editors  representing  the  denominations  having  a  substantial 
majority  of  the  Sunday  school  constituency  in  America  met  to 
discuss  the  problems  arising  from  the  substituting  of  the  new 
tern  of  lesson  quarterlies  in  place  of  those  of  the  Uni  f«  Tin  1  .ossons. 
On  the  basis  of  the  outline  for  departmental  Uniform  Lessons 
for   1918  definite  suggestions  were  made.     The  International 


'Ninth  Annual  Report  of  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications,  p.   16. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Lesson  Committee  utilized  these  suggestions32  as  far  as  possible 
for  i. 9 1 8  and  made  them  the  basis  for  the  dealing  with  the  out- 
line of  lessons  for  1919.  The  approving  of  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  conference  of  editors,  presented  to  the  editorial  sec- 
tion of  the  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denomina- 
tions and  ratified  by  them,  will  result  in  great  uniformity  in  the 


32Findings   of   Informal   Conference  of   Editors   Regarding    Improved 
Uniform  Lessons  Beginning  with   1918 

1.  Ultimate  Objective. 

The  introduction  of  thoroughly  graded  religious  instruction  into  all  de- 
partments of  the  Sunday  school. 

2.  Improved  Uniform  Lessons. 

We  recognize  in  the  Improved  Uniform  series  an  opportunity  to  lead 
our  schools  in  the  direction  of  this  objective. 

3.  Method. 

In  order  to  serve  this  purpose  in  the  largest  measure  we  deem  it 
necessary: 

a.  To  adapt  more  perfectly  the  lesson  themes  to  the  special  needs  of  each 
department. 

b.  To  introduce  additional  Scripture  material  likewise  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  various  departments. 

4.  Departments  Affected 

We  believe  that  this  plan  can  be  best  advanced  by  providing  separate 
lesson  titles  for  the  following  departments:  (a)  Primary;  (b)  Junior;  (c) 
Intermediate;  (d)  Senior  and  Adult. 

5.  Publication  Form — Quarterlies. 

In  order  to  avoid  confusion  in  the  introduction  of  the  new  scheme  we 
deem  it  advisable : 

a.  To  publish  in  the  periodicals  for  each  department  the  general  lesson 
title  in  addition  to  the  departmental  theme.  In  the  interests  of  depart- 
mental adaptation,  however,  the  departmental  theme  should  be  made  most 
prominent. 

b.  That  for  the  present  a  brief,  common  passage  for  use  in  the  opening 
service  should  be  printed  in  periodicals  for  all  departments  above  the  pri- 
mary. 

c.  That  in  addition  to  this  common  passage  there  should  be  printed  in 
the  periodicals  for  each  department  such  portions  of  the  specified  Bible 
material  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  proper  teaching  of  the  departmental 
lesson.  (Ninth  Annual  Report  of  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications, 
pp.  16,  17.) 

189 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

publication  forms  of  the  editorial  treatment  of  the  new  system 
of  lessons. 

It  will  preserve  intact,  with  proper  modifications  and  adjust- 
ments, the  present  system  of  denominational  lesson  quarterlies, 
thus  making  possible  the  transition  from  the  old  system  of  abso- 
lute uniformity  of  departmental  lessons  without  confusion  or 
financial  loss.33 

The  graded  lessons  ordered  in  1908  and  prepared  as  rapidly 
as  possible  now  come  up  for  revision.  The  elementary  grade 
lessons  are  being  revised  under  the  supervision  of  the  Editorial 
Committee  of  the  Graded  Lesson  Syndicate,  of  which  Dr.  Henry 
H.  Meyer  is  chairman.  The  first  and  second-year  Intermediate 
studies  and  the  second-year  Senior  course  will  have  new  text 
books  for  both  teachers  and  pupils.  Other  revisions  are  to  fol- 
low. 

The  College  Voluntary  Study  Courses  are  being  extended 
by  the  addition  of  new  textbooks.  These  are  gotten  out  under 
the  cooperating  committees  representing  the  Sunday  School 
Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations  and  the  Council  of  North 
American  Student  Movements.  Dr.  McFarland  had  much  to 
do  with  the  initial  conferences.  As  the  result  of  his  experiences 
as  a  college  professor  and  president  he  early  wrote  to  the  pub- 
lishers: 

My  thought  is  that  there  is  an  urgent  need  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  series  of  textbooks  providing  for  systematic  Bible  study 
in  secondary  schools  and  colleges.  No  such  set  of  books  has 
been  prepared  by  anyone.  Consequently  the  schools  desiring  to 
furnish  effective  instruction  in  the  Bible  find  no  adequate  text- 
books for  the  purpose.  The  majority  of  the  schools  will  not  find 
it  possible  to  support  a  distinct  chair  of  the  English  Bible.  But 
in  all  schools  there  are  teachers  who,  while  not  competent  to 
formulate  a  complete  course  of  Bible  study,  arc  quite  competent 
to  conduct  effectively  such  study  if  provided  with  suitable  text- 
books.   What  is  needed  is  an  intelligently  conceived  graded  series 


""Ninth  Annual   Report  of   Editor  of   Sunday   School   Publications,  pp. 
17,   18. 

190 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

of  books,  beginning  with  books  adapted  for  use  in  preparatory 
and  all  secondary  schools,  followed  by  books  suitable  for  college 
classes. 

The  Editorial  Department  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  faces 
as  an  unsolved  problem  the  curriculum  for  week-day  religious 
instruction. 

After  the  legislation  of  1908  and  the  electing  of  an  editor 
of  Sunday  School  Publications  to  give  all  of  his  time  to  the  de- 
velopment of  Sunday  school  literature,  the  periodicals  and  lesson 
quarterlies  became  greatly  improved.  One  of  the  outstanding 
developments  of  this  new  legislation  is  the  high  grade  and  exten- 
sive character  of  the  publications,  a  list  of  which  follows : 

ANNOTATED  LIST  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  PUBLICATIONS 
BY  AGE  GROUPS  AND  DEPARTMENTS— DECEMBER,  1916 

[This  list  was  extensively  revised  in  1918] 
Dr.  Henry  H.  Meyer — Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications 
For  Children  Under  Six  Years  of  Age 
Uniform  Lesson  Periodicals 
Berean  Lesson  Pictures.     3  by  4  inches.     Issued  quarterly  for  weekly  dis- 
tribution.   The  lesson  story  in  simple  language  is  printed  on  the  back  of 
each  card.     10  cents  per  year. 
The  Berean  Leaf  Cluster.    A  wall  roll,  2  by  3  feet,  giving  a  picture  in  four 
or  five  colors  for  each  lesson.     Issued  quarterly.    $3  per  year. 

Graded  Lessons 
Beginners'    Stories,   First   Year.     Issued   quarterly.     Single    subscriptions, 

36  cents  a  year.    School  subscriptions,  30  cents  a  year ;  jl/2  cents  a  quarter. 
Beginners'   Stories,   Second   Year.     Issued  quarterly.     Single   subscription, 

36  cents  a  year.    School  subscription,  30  cents  a  year ;  7J/2  cents  a  quarter. 

For  Children  in  the  Primary  Department  (Age  Six  to  Eight) 

Uniform  Lesson  Periodicals 
(In  addition  to  those  listed  for  children  under  six  years  of  age.) 
The  Berean  Primary  Quarterly.     Tells  the  lesson  story  in  language  easily 
understood  by  the  primary  pupil.    Contains  also,  each  quarter,  the  words 
and  music  of  four  or  five  easy  songs.     15  cents  a  year. 

Graded  Lessons 

Primary   Stories,   First   Year.     Issued   quarterly.     Single   subscription,  30 

cents  a  year.    School  subscriptions,  24  cents  a  year ;  6  cents  a  quarter. 

191 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Primary  Stories  with  Handwork,  Second  Year.     Issued  quarterly.     Single 

subscription,  40  cents  a  year.     School  subscriptions,  32  cents  a  year ;  8 

cents  a  quarter. 
Primary  Stories  with  Handwork,  Third  Year.     Issued  quarterly.     Single 

subscription,  40  cents  a  year.     School  subscriptions,  32  cents  a  year;  8 

cents  a  quarter. 

Story  Paper 
Picture  Story  Paper.    Issued  monthly.     Single  copies,  30  cents  a  year.     Six 

or  more  to  one  address,  24  cents. 

For  Children  in  the  Junior  Department  (Age  Nine  to  Twelve) 
Uniform   Lesson  Periodicals 

The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Lesson  Quarterly.  Tells  the  lesson  story  in  an  inter- 
esting manner.  Contains  also,  each  quarter,  a  map  and  the  words  and 
music  of  two  or  three  hymns.  Well  illustrated.  Issued  quarterly.  15 
cents  a  year. 

The  Shorter  Junior  Lesson  Quarterly.    A  condensed  edition  of  the  "Boys' 
and  Girls'  Lesson  Quarterly."    5  cents  a  year. 
Graded  Lessons 

The  Pupil's  Book  for  Work  and  Study,  First  Year.  A  book  arranged  for 
daily  tasks  in  simple  hand  work  bearing  directly  on  the  lesson  for  each 
Sunday,  with  a  special  picture  sheet  for  cutting  and  pasting.  Compare 
Junior  Teacher's  Textbook,  First  Year.  Issued  quarterly.  10  cents  a 
book  or  40  cents  a  year. 

The  Pupil's  Book  for  Work  and  Study,  Second  Year.  Similar  to  the 
corresponding  books  for  the  first  year,  slightly  more  advanced,  and 
offering  handwork  bearing  on  the  second  year  Junior  lessons.  Compare 
Junior  Teacher's  Textbook,  Second  Year.  Issued  quarterly.  10  cents  a 
book  or  40  cents  a  year. 

The  Pupil's  Book  for  Work  and  Study,  Third  Year.  Offering  handwork 
bearing  on  the  lessons  for  the  third  Junior  year.  Compare  Junior  Teach- 
er's Textbook,  Third  Year.  Issued  quarterly.  10  cents  a  book  or  40 
cents  a  year. 

The  Pupil's  Book  for  Work  and  Study,  Fourth  Year.  Offering  handwork 
bearing  on  the  lessons  for  the  fourth  Junior  year,  the  year  of  transition 
to  the  Intermediate  Department  (age  12).  Compare  Junior  Teacher's 
Textbook,  Fourth  Year.  Issued  quarterly.  10  cents  a  book  or  40  cents  a 
year. 

Story  Paper 

The  Sunday  School  Advocate.  Issued  weekly.  Single  copies,  35  cents  a 
year ;  six  or  more  to  one  address,  30  cents. 

For  Intkrmediate  Pupils  (Age  Thirteen  to  Sixteen) 

Uniform  Lesson  Periodicals 

The  Illustrated  Intermediate  Lesson  Quarterly.     Forty  pages.    Gives  a 

full  and  interesting  lesson  treatment,  test  questions,  and  an  application  of 

192 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  lesson  to  the  every-day  life  of  the  pupil.  Contains  also  a  map  each 
quarter.     15  cents  a  year. 

The  Berean  Intermediate  Lesson  Quarterly.  Thirty  pages.  A  con- 
densed edition  of  the  "Illustrated  Intermediate  Lesson  Quarterly,"  with- 
out illustrations.    2  cents  per  quarter ;  7  cents  a  year. 

The  Lesson  Leaf.  Issued  quarterly,  one  leaf  for  each  lesson,  for  weekly 
distribution.     5  cents  a  year. 

Graded  Lessons 

Pupil's  Text  Book,  First  Year.  A  nine-months'  course  in  Leaders  of 
Israel,  and  a  three-months'  course  in  Religious  Leaders  of  North  Amer- 
ica, presented  in  biographical  form.  Compare  Intermediate  Teacher's 
Manual,  First  Year.  Issued  quarterly.  12J4  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a 
year. 

Pupil's  Text  Book,  Second  Year.  A  nine-months'  course  in  New  Testament 
biography,  and  a  three-months'  course  in  Modern  Missionary  Biography 
(Alexander  Mackay).  Compare  Intermediate  Teacher's  Manual,  Second 
Year.    Issued  quarterly.     12^2  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

Pupil's  Text  Book,  Third  Year.  A  nine-months'  course  of  Studies  in  the 
Life  of  Christ,  written  especially  for  pupils  of  intermediate  age.  A  three- 
months'  course  in  Modern  Missionary  Biography  (David  Livingstone). 
Compare  Intermediate  Teacher's  Manual,  Third  Year.  Issued  quar- 
terly.    12^2  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

Pupil's  Text  Book,  Fourth  Year.  A  twelve-months'  course  in  Studies  in 
Christian  Living,  including  "What  It  Means  to  be  a  Christian,"  "Problems 
in  Christian  Life,"  "The  Christian  and  the  Church,"  and  "The  Word  of 
God  in  Life."  Compare  Intermediate  Teacher's  Manual,  Fourth  Year. 
Issued  quarterly.     I2j4  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

Story  Paper 
The  Classmate.    Issued  weekly.    Intended  also  for  senior  pupils.    75  cents 
a  year ;  in  clubs  of  six  or  more  to  one  address,  60  cents  a  year. 

For  Senior  Pupils  (Age  Seventeen  to  Twenty) 
Uniform  Lessons 
The  Senior  Berean  Lesson  Quarterly.    20  cents  a  year. 
The  Lesson  Handbook.    For  Seniors  and  Adults.    Vestpocket  size.    A  con- 
cise commentary  on  the  International  Uniform  Lessons   for  the  entire 
year,  with  a  practical  application  of  each  lesson  to  every-day  life.     By 
Henry  H.  Meyer.     Published  annually.     Price,  25  cents. 

Graded  Lessons 
Student's  Text  Book,  First  Year.  Six  months'  course  on  "The  World:  A 
Field  for  Christian  Service;"  a  three-months'  course  on  "Problems  of 
Youth  in  Social  Life;"  and  a  three-months'  course  in  "Studies  in  the 
Books  of  Ruth  and  James."  Compare  Senior  Teacher's  Manual,  First 
Year.  Issued  quarterly.  12^2  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 
Student's  Text  Book,  Second  Year.    A  twelve-months'  course  on  "The  His- 

193 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

tory  and  Literature  of  the  Hebrew  People,"  being  a  survey  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Compare  Senior  Teacher's  Manual,  Second  Year.  Issued 
quarterly.     12^4  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

Student's  Text  Book,  Third  Year.  A  six-months'  course  on  "The  History 
of  New  Testament  Times ;"  a  three-months'  "Survey  of  New  Testament 
Literature,"  and  a  three-months'  course  on  "The  First  Century  of  the 
Christian  Church."  Compare  Senior  Teacher's  Manual,  Third  Year. 
Issued  quarterly.     12V2  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

Student's  Text  Book,  Fourth  Year.  A  twelve-months'  course  on  "The 
Bible  and  Social  Living,"  dealing  with  the  application  of  Bible  teachings 
to  the  family,  community,  the  industrial  order,  the  State,  and  the  Church, 
with  concluding  studies  on  "The  Principal  Bible  Spokesmen  for  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  Compare  Senior  Teacher's  Manual,  Fourth  Year. 
Issued  quarterly.     i2l/2  cents  a  book  or  50  cents  a  year. 

College  Voluntary  Scries 
A  special  course  of  voluntary  Bible  study  for  classes  consisting  of  col- 
lege students.     Prepared  in  cooperation  with  other  denominations  by  a  joint 
committee   of   the    Sunday   School   Council   and   the   Council    of    the    North 
American  Student  Movements. 

Student  Standards  of  Action.  Twelve  studies  in  personal  conduct  with 
special  reference  to  the  problems  of  student  life.  By  H.  S.  Elliott  and 
Ethel  Cutler.  50  cents. 
Christian  Standards  in  Life.  Twelve  studies  in  Christian  principles  of 
conduct  from  the  student's  point  of  view.  By  J.  L.  Murray  and  F.  M. 
Harris.  50  cents. 
A  Life  at  Its  Best.    Twelve  studies  in  the  life  of  Paul.    By  R.  H.  Edwards 

and  Ethel  Cutler.     50  cents. 
A  Challenge  to  Life  Service.    Twelve  studies  in  social  and  world  conditions 
that  challenge  the  college  trained  man  to  consecrate  his  life  to  a  pro- 
gram of  Christian  service.    By  F.  M.  Harris  and  J.  C.  Robbins.    50  cents. 
The  Social  Principles  of  Jesus.    Twelve  studies  in  the  example  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  bearing  upon  social  problems.     By  Walter  Rauschenbusch. 
50  cents. 
Christianizing  Community  Life.    Twelve  studies  applying  the  Social  Prin- 
ciples of  Jesus  to  modern  community  life.    By  Harry  F.  Ward  and  Rich- 
ard H.  Edwards.    50  cents. 

For  Adults 
Periodicals 

The  Adult  Bible  Class  Monthly. — A  forty-eight-page,  illustrated  publica- 
tion with  two  sets  of  lessons,  the  International  Uniform  Lessom  and 
"The  Development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God"  Lessons,  a  special  course  for 
adults  outlined  by  the  Committee  on  Curriculum  of  the  Board  of  Sun- 
day Schools.  The  magazine  section  carries  the  message  of  the  Adult 
Department  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  the  Methodist  Federation 
for  Social  Service,  and  the  Methodist  Brotherhood,  in  addition  to  spe- 

194 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

cial  articles  relating  to  the  adult  Bible  class  movement.  Single  subscrip- 
tions, 50  cents  a  year ;  six  or  more  to  one  address,  40  cents. 

The  Adult  Worker's  Manual. — A  sixty-four-page  quarterly  devoted  dur- 
ing 1917  to  a  fuller  exposition  of  the  course  on  "The  Development  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  Since  the  Time  of  Christ,"  a  briefer  treatment  of 
which  appears  in  the  Adult  Bible  Class  Monthly.    50  cents  a  year. 

The  Home  Department  Quarterly. — An  eighty-page  illustrated  home  mag- 
azine, with  several  treatments  of  the  International  Uniform  Lessons,  ma- 
terial for  the  devotional  life,  articles  on  religion  and  the  home,  com- 
munity relationships,  and  the  Bible.  Single  subscriptions,  30  cents  a  year ; 
six  or  more  to  one  address,  25  cents. 

The  Home  Department  Visitor. — A  special  edition  of  the  Home  Department 
Quarterly  with  eight  supplementary  pages  of  special  guidance  for  Home 
Department  officers  and  visitors.  Single  subscriptions,  35  cents  a  year; 
six  or  more  to  one  address,  30  cents. 

Special  Courses 

Poverty  and  Wealth.  Twelve  studies  in  a  Christian's  attitude  toward 
property  and  its  use.    By  Harry  F.  Ward.    50  cents. 

The  Liquor  Problem.  Twelve  studies  in  the  various  social,  economic,  moral, 
and  religious  problems  arising  from  the  use  of  alcohol.  By  Norman  E. 
Richardson.     50  cents. 

International  Peace.  Twelve  studies  in  the  teachings  of  Christ  in  the  New 
Testament  regarding  human  brotherhood  and  interracial  sympathy  and 
good  will.  A  Study  in  Christian  Fraternity.  Pamphlet  form.  5  cents. 
By  Norman  E.  Richardson. 

Development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  Old  Testament  Times.  A 
course  of  52  studies  setting  forth  the  gradual  growth  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  in  Israel  down  to  the  time  of  Christ.  By  John  B.  Ascham.  (In  pro- 
cess of  revision.) 

Development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God — Life  and  Teachings  of  Jesus 
Christ.  A  course  of  52  studies  setting  forth  the  relationship  of  the  life 
and  teachings  of  Jesus  to  the  development  of  his  Kingdom  in  the  world. 
By  Harris  F.  Rail  and  John  W.  Langdale.     (In  process  of  revision.) 

Development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  Since  the  Time  of  Christ.  A  course 
of  52  studies  showing  how  the  Kingdom  of  God  has  continued  to  grow 
among  men  from  the  time  of  Christ  down  to  the  present.  By  John  B. 
Ascham.     (See  Adult  Worker's  Manual.) 

For  Teachers  Using  the  International  Uniform  Lessons 
Periodicals 
The  Sunday  School  Journal  furnishes  the  most  varied  and  complete  treat- 
ment of  the  uniform  lesson  available  in  periodical  form.  Its  magazine 
section  contains  articles  on  all  important  phases  of  Sunday-school  activ- 
ity. It  is  the  one  indispensable  help  for  all  schools  using  the  uniform 
lesson.  Sixty-four  pages  monthly.  Single  subscriptions,  60  cents  a  year. 
In  clubs  of  six  or  more  to  one  address,  50  cents. 

195 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

The  Adult  Bible  Class  Monthly.     (See  above.) 

Adult  Worker's  Manual.     (See  above.) 

The  Berean  Primary  Teacher.  Offering  special  help  to  teachers  in  the  Pri- 
mary Department.  Published  quarterly.  40  cents  a  year;  12  cents  a 
quarter. 

Books 

The  Superintendent's  Helper.  By  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut.  Published  annually. 
Vestpocket  size.     25  cents. 

For  Teachers  Using  the  International  Graded  Lessons 
General 

The  Graded  Sunday  School  Magazine  is  an  organ  of  the  graded  Sunday- 
school  movement  and  an  index  of  its  progress.  It  furnishes  abundant 
material  on  methods  for  all  departments  of  the  graded  schools  and  on 
principles  of  general  Sunday-school  administration  and  departmental  ad- 
ministration. A  leading  feature  is  the  teachers'  helps  on  the  various 
graded  courses.  Sixty-four  pages  monthly,  profusely  illustrated.  Price, 
single  subscriptions,  75  cents  per  year ;  in  clubs  of  six  to  one  address,  70 
cents. 

General  Manual  on  the  Introduction  and  Use  of  the  Graded  Lessons, 
50  cents. 

Beginners 

Beginners'  Teacher's  Text  Book,  First  Year.     Issued  quarterly.  25  cents 

a  book  or  $1  a  year. 
Beginners'   Teacher's    Text    Book,    Second   Year.      Issued    quarterly.     25 

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196 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

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197 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

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198 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

ciples  and  methods  of  organized  Adult  Bible  Class  work.  By  Wade 
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Sunday-school  organization  and  management.     By  F.  L.  Brown. 

(Annual  Report— Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications  to  Book  Com- 
mittee, April,  191 7.) 

The  following  tables  to  be  found  in  the  same  report  present  the  relative 
growth  in  enrollment  in  the  Sunday  School  and  the  circulation  of  Sunday 
school  publications. 

Sunday  School  Enrollment,  1899-1915,  by  Quadrenniums 

Per  Cent 
Per  Cent         Increase          Inc.  for 
Year  Enrollment34         Increase  Increase         for  8  yrs.       8  years. 

1899  3-089,705     

1903  3,246,409    156,704    5-0%    

1907  3,512,116   265,707    8.0%    422,411    13-6% 

1911  3,763,196    251,080    7-0%    

1915     4,283,966        520,770        13-8%        771,950        21.9% 

Circulation  of  Sunday  School  Publications,  1899-1915,  by  Quadrenniums 

Per  Cent 

Per  Cent  Increase         Inc.  for 

Year  Circulation35         Increase         Increase  for  8  yrs.         8  years. 

1899  3,162,883  

1903  3,304,697         141,814  4-4%  

1907  3,795,136  490,438         14.8%         632,253         19.9% 

1911  4,169,945        374,809  9-8%  

1915  4,667,307  497,362        11.9%        872,171        22.9% 


34Does  not  include  the  Cradle  Roll,  statistics  for  which  date  back  only 
to  1909. 

3sDoes  not  include  (1)  pictures  of  any  kind;  Leaf  Cluster,  Bercan  Pic- 
ture Cards,  or  pictures  sold  with  the  graded  lessons ;  or  (2)  lesson  helps 
issued  in  book  form:  the  teacher-training  and  other  text-books;  or  (3)  Sun- 
day school  literature  in  foreign  languages  or  printed  in  foreign  fields.  The 
circulation  of  German  Sunday  school  helps  is  approximately  fifty  thousand. 
No   figures   are  available   for   literature   in   other    foreign   languages.     The 

199 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

1916  was  an  historic  year,  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  an- 
niversary of  the  beginning  of  American  Methodism  under  the 
preaching  of  Philip  Embury  in  New  York  and  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  first  Methodist  bishop,  Francis 
Asbury,  that  great  pioneer  leader  of  the  church  in  her  religious 
education  of  childhood  and  in  the  recognition  of  the  Sunday 
school  movement.  In  the  foregoing  pages  is  Methodism's  answer 
in  part  to  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  her  opportunity  in 
America. 


number  of  pictures  sold  in  1915  was  more  than  five  hundred  thousand;  the 
number  of  teacher-training  and  other  text-books,  about  one  hundred  thou- 
sand. 


[The  lesson  system  devised  by  Vincent,  1866-1868  (see  pp.  135-136), 
was  called  the  Berean  Series  (see  Acts  17:11),  beginning  with  the  publica- 
tion of  January,  1870.  It  included  daily  Bible  readings,  etc.  The  name 
Berean  has  been  applied  to  subsequent  Sunday  school  lesson  publications 
denoting  especially  the  method  of  treatment.  It  is  now  practically  a  trade 
name  only.] 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  VII 

SUMMARY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 
IN  AMERICAN  METHODISM 

§  i.    The  General  View 

For  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  Methodism  has  had  a 
program  of  religious  education  through  the  agency  of  the  Sun- 
day school.  Its  work  has  been  steady,  assured.  The  transplant- 
ing from  English  to  American  soil  meant  the  delaying  of  its  day 
of  richest  fruitage,  but  that  day  has  come.  An  enrollment  of 
4,679,120  names  in  American  Methodist  Sunday  Schools  at  the 
close  of  1916  justifies  the  day  of  small  things,  and  the  early 
years  of  faith  in  the  yet  unseen. 

Certain  clearly  marked  periods  denote  the  development  of 
the  Sunday  school  in  American  Methodism : 

(1)  The  period  of  the  transplanted  institution. 

(2)  The  organized  advance  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School 
Union,  1827- 1840. 

(3)  The  reorganized  Sunday  School  Union  and  the  period  of 
enlarged  plans  and  methods,  1840- 1908. 

(4)  The  new  vision  and  more  systematized  activities,   1908- 
1916. 

Preceding  each  bold  step  forward  there  was  a  time  of  dis- 
satisfaction, of  lessened  activities,  of  a  vain  searching  for  the 
seen  but  unattained,  leading  by  its  very  struggle,  restless  and 
imperative,  to  the  glad  day  of  fruition.  At  such  times  the  newly 
possessed  tended  to  satisfy  and  found  expression  in  the  liter- 
ature of  the  day.  "True  it  is,"  said  one  Conference  in  1854,  "we 
are  verging  toward  a  perfect  system  of  instruction,  so  far  as 
books  can  enlighten  the  children's  minds."  x 

'Annual  Report  for  1854,  p.  29. 

201 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Some  years  were  meager  in  the  opportunity  of  service  held 
by  the  Sunday  School  Union.  In  1846  the  Union  appointed  a 
committee  to  collect  second-hand  books  to  be  given  out  again,2 
and  May  5,  1845,  the  treasurer  of  the  Board  reorganized  in  1840 
reported  on  hand  $265.67,  the  largest  amount  up  to  that  time,3 
though  October  27  registered  $621.75  on  hand.  How  small  in 
comparison  with  191 6,  when  the  offerings  to  the  Sunday  School 
Board  were  $162,993.53! 

The  church  has  had  its  world  vision  of  service  in  its  pro- 
gram of  religious  education.  The  Sunday  school  has  been  its 
advance  agent  in  America,  and  has  accompanied  the  missionary 
on  every  foreign  service  of  the  church.  Since  1869,  the  first 
year  of  the  Sunday  School's  recorded  gift  to  missions,  to  the  end 
of  1916,  $17,397,639  has  been  her  offering.  The  foreign  pro- 
gram that  the  Board  is  enthusiastically  prosecuting  now  is  worthy 
of  its  world  parish. 

Methodism  has  been  an  alert  student  of  the  problems  of 
religious  education,  as  her  records  attest.  From  the  beginning 
of  her  organization  of  Sunday  school  forces  there  have  been 
gatherings  of  her  people,  printed  page,  and  enthusiastic  herald 
to  urge  to  the  mastery  of  the  present  and  the  seeking  of  better 
things. 

In  few  things  does  Methodism  claim  to  have  blazed  the  trail 
— religious  instruction  in  the  early  Sunday  school,  gratuitous 
teaching,  adult  instruction,  the  lesson  leaf,  institutes  and 
Chautauquas — but  it  has  been  her  privilege  at  times  to  "set  the 
pace." 

The  records  credit  much  of  her  successful  service  to  her 
magnificent  leadership :  Wesley,  Asbury,  Bangs,  Kidder,  Wise, 
Vincent,  Hurlbut,  and  not  least,  the  lamented  McFarland,  among 
its  galaxy  of  officials,  and  a  mighty  host  of  those  responsible  in 
lesser  places  of  authority  who  have  counted  not  the  cost  ol  a 
life's  investment  for  the  saving  of  childhood. 


"Minutes  of  February  23,  1846. 
'Ibid.,  May  5,  1845. 

202 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

§  2.   Elements  Entering  Into  the  Educational  Program, 
Historically  Considered 

To  rightly  characterize  the  Sunday  school  movement  one 
must  consider  those  elements  that  enter  into  any  educational 
program.  They  may  be  listed  under  (i)  organization,  (2) 
equipment,  (3)  method,  including  curriculum,  (4)  the  teacher, 
and  (5)  the  goal.  A  summary  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  school 
activities  may  fittingly  be  considered  under  these  headings. 

Organization 

From  the  establishing  of  Methodism  in  America,  1784,  until 
1824  Sunday  schools  were  of  local  organization  alone,  urged  by 
the  leaders  of  the  church,  but  not  unified  or  centralized  even  by 
so  much  as  reports  to  the  conference  of  the  church.  From  Meth- 
odism's early  inception  the  training  of  the  young  was  made  obli- 
gatory upon  each  pastor,  but  the  forming  of  Sunday  schools 
as  such  was  merely  an  admonition  from  headquarters.  When 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union  was  organized  in  1824  the 
Methodist  Sunday  schools,  as  a  rule,  joined  themselves  to  that 
association.  Some,  however,  withheld  from  this  cooperative 
work  on  account  of  differences  in  method  and  theological  beliefs. 
Hence,  in  1827,  under  the  leadership  of  the  New  York  Methodist 
Sunday  school  work,  a  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  was 
effected. 

In  1840  it  became  necessary  to  reorganize  the  Union,  largely 
because  of  an  unfortunate  merging  that  had  taken  place  in  1833 
of  the  Bible,  Sunday  School  and  Tract  Societies.  In  1836  the 
Bible  Society  was  dissolved  and  the  allegiance  of  the  Methodist 
Church  was  given  to  the  American  Bible  Society.  The  other 
two  organizations  continued  under  one  board  until  the  Sunday 
school  society  assumed  an  independent  existence  in  1840.  From 
1844  to  1852  the  editor  of  Sunday  school  books  was  also  the 
editor  of  tracts.  At  that  time  the  Tract  Society  was  reorganized. 
The  1840  organization  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  continued 
until  January,  1907,  when  it  was  again  a  part  of  a  merging  plan, 
the  official  title  of  which  was  the  Sunday  School  Department  of 

203 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

the  Board  of  Education,  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Sunday  Schools. 
This  consolidation  continued  only  a  year,  when  the  Sunday 
school  work  was  organized  under  the  caption,  "The  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools." 

The  secretaries  number  nine.  Before  1844  the  Sunday 
School  Union  had  merely  the  usual  corresponding  and  recording 
secretaries  of  any  board.  Three  names  stand  out  prominently ; 
that  of  the  widely  honored  Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs,  who  was 
one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  the  years  succeeding  the  original 
organization  in  1827;  the  others,  Rev.  George  Coles,  corre- 
sponding secretary,  and  Alfred  S.  Purdy.  M.D.,  recording 
secretary,  succeeding  the  organization  of  1840.  In  1844  the 
General  Conference  elected  a  corresponding  secretary.  To  this 
office  came  Dr.  D.  P.  Kidder,  succeeded  in  1855  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Daniel  Wise,  who  was  in  turn  succeeded  in  1868  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
(afterward  Bishop)  J.  H.  Vincent.  After  Vincent's  twenty 
years  of  far-famed  activities,  the  Rev  Dr.  J.  L.  Hurlbut  served 
from  1888  to  1900.  The  following  four  years  the  Rev.  Dr. 
(now  Bishop)  Thomas  B.  Neely  served.  From  1904  to  1908  the 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  McFarland  occupied  the  office.  In  1908  the 
Rev.  Dr.  David  G.  Downey  became  the  corresponding  secretary 
and  Dr.  McFarland  the  editor  of  Sunday  school  publica- 
tions. The  Rev.  Dr.  Edgar  Blake,  Assistant  Corresponding 
Secretary,  took  up  the  duties  of  the  secretaryship  upon  the  selec- 
tion of  Dr.  Downey  as  Book  Editor  in  191 2,  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Meyer,  Assistant  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publica- 
tions, served  as  editor  after  the  death  of  Dr.  McFarland  in  1913. 
At  the  next  General  Conference,  19 16,  Dr.  Blake  and  Dr.  Meyer 
were  elected  to  the  offices  they  had  filled  during  the  quardennium. 

Sunday  school  agents  or  field  workers  were  early  a  part  of 
the  organization,  though  the  itinerant  pastor  was  everywhere  the 
Sunday  school's  best  advance  agent.  In  1836  the  bishops  were 
authorized  to  appoint  Sunday  school  agents  when  requested  to 
do  so  by  the  Annual  Conferences,  which  many  did.  In  1  .v 
general  agenl  was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Sunday  School  Union  to  travel  at  large,  holding  institutes  and 

204 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

aiding  in  the  work  generally.  Increasingly  Sunday  school  agents 
were  considered  essential  for  efficiency.  In  1901  "field  workers" 
were  sent  out  from  the  General  Board,  and  have  since  been  a 
constant  part  of  the  organization.  Their  work  has  been  on  the 
frontiers,  among  the  Indians,  Negroes,  and  foreign-speaking 
peoples  in  America,  and  in  the  various  foreign  mission  lands. 

The  Sunday  school  movement  has  had  special  departments 
for  its  activities.  In  1868  the  General  Conference  created  a 
Department  of  Sunday  School  Instruction.  The  Conference  of 
1908  separated  the  work  into  definite  departments  for  the 
various  groups  in  the  Sunday  school,  according  to  age,  with  also 
Departments  of  Missions,  Teacher  Training,  etc. 

The  organization  of  the  Sunday  school  has  included  rela- 
tionship to  the  benevolent  and  educational  agencies  of  the  church. 
Beginning  with  1869  the  contributions  of  the  Sunday  school  to 
missions,  both  home  and  foreign,  became  a  separate  item  in  the 
report,  and  in  1912  ten  per  cent  of  all  missionary  contributions 
of  the  Sunday  school  was  to  be  set  apart  for  the  foreign  work  of 
the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools.  In  1872  the  second  Sunday  in 
June  was  appointed  to  be  observed  as  Children's  Day  and  a  col- 
lection ordered  taken,  wherever  practicable,  to  aid  in  the  Sun- 
day School  Fund  of  the  Board  of  Education.  In  1904  it  was 
directed  that  a  collection  be  taken  in  each  Sunday  school  for  the 
Sunday  School  Union.  The  local  Methodist  churches  have  never 
had  a  budget  for  Sunday  school  expenses,  but  every  benevolent 
organization  has  looked  to  the  Sunday  school  to  aid  in  its  support. 

The  relationship  of  the  Sunday  school  movement  to  the 
church  organically  has  been  a  question  of  importance  from  the 
beginning.  In  1828  the  General  Conference  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee on  Sunday  Schools  and  Tracts.  In  1832  it  was  made  the 
duty  of  preachers  in  charge  to  report  Sunday  school  statistics. 
In  1840  the  presiding  elder  was  directed  to  inquire  at  each  Quar- 
terly Conference  whether  the  rules  for  the  instruction  of  children 
had  been  faithfully  observed,  and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the 
preacher  in  charge  to  visit  the  Sunday  school  as  often  as  practi- 
cable and  preach  on  the  subject  at  least  once  in  six  months.     The 

205 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

same  year  the  Sunday  school  was  placed  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Quarterly  Conference.  In  1852  male  superintendents  who 
were  members  of  the  church  were  admitted  into  the  Quarterly 
Conference,  with  the  right  to  vote  on  Sunday  school  questions, 
full  membership  being  granted  to  them  in  1856.  In  1864  the 
Quarterly  Conference  was  invested  with  power  to  remove  an  un- 
worthy or  inefficient  superintendent  and  was  authorized  to  ap- 
point a  Sunday  School  Committee  to  aid  the  school  in  its  activ- 
ities. In  1876  a  form  of  Sunday  School  Constitution  was  incor- 
porated in  the  Discipline.  In  1880  the  word  "male"  was  stricken 
out  from  before  the  word  "superintendents,"  and  the  pastor  in 
charge  of  the  church  was  made  chairman  of  the  Sunday  School 
Board  ex  officio.  In  1904  the  president  of  the  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Sunday  school  became  a  member  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence. 

The  gathering  of  Sunday  school  statistics  has  been  a  matter 
of  repeated  agitation.  Great  deficiency  in  their  gathering  appears 
until  1846,  though  in  1832  the  preacher  in  charge  had  been 
directed  to  report  Sunday  school  statistics.  The  Union  drew  up 
a  new  form  of  report  and  submitted  it  to  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences of  1846.  From  1904  additional  emphasis  has  been  laid 
upon  the  careful  gathering  of  statistics,  that  date  recording  the 
beginning  of  the  listing  of  the  Cradle  Roll  as  a  separate  item, 
also  the  keeping  of  the  contributions  from  the  Sunday  school  to 
the  Sunday  School  Union  as  distinct  from  the  collection  from  the 
church  in  the  reports.  Since  1908  the  accuracy  of  the  reports 
has  been  greatly  increased.  Beginning  with  the  1909  Year  Book 
of  the  Sunday  school  the  statistical  tables  presented  have  been 
much  more  comprehensive. 

Equipment 

The  equipment  of  the  Sunday  school  is  in  most  of  its 
aspects  a  modern  theme.  However,  reports  dating  back  as 
far  as  1825  show  that  special  Sunday  school  buildings  wire 
erected.4     When  more  attention  was  given  to  the  apparatus  of 

'See  pp.  56,  57. 

206 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  Sunday  school,  pedagogical  considerations  entered  into  the 
discussion  of  architectural  plans.5  A  Sunday  school  library  was 
an  indispensable  asset  from  1824,  when  the  General  Conference 
directed  the  Book  Concern  "to  provide  and  keep  on  hand  a  good 
assortment  of  books  suitable  for  use  of  Sunday  schools."  But 
with  1844  began  the  special  effort  in  regard  to  Sunday  school 
publications.  The  more  definite  apparatus  of  the  Sunday  school 
became  the  subject  of  agitation  under  Vincent's  secretaryship, 
Daniel  Wise  having  efficiently  led  the  church  previously  in  its 
devotion  to  securing  suitable  books.  In  the  improved  methods, 
maps,  charts,  song  books,  Palestinian  form  maps,  and  even  curio 
cabinets  became  indispensable.  It  was  left  for  the  day  of  Graded 
Lessons  to  make  essential  the  equipment  for  expression  work  as 
over  against  the  apparatus  for  impression  work  which  had  been 
the  ideal  up  to  this  time.  Sunday  school  architecture  comes  as 
almost  a  new  subject  in  the  twentieth  century  and  is  forcing  a 
new  type  of  church  building. 

Method,  Including  Curriculum 

The  method  has  been  induced  by  the  ideal  that  Sunday 
school  workers  have  held.  The  learning  to  read  and  write  gave 
place  to  memorization.  This  was  supplemented  and  in  part  dis- 
placed by  the  effort  to  win  the  pupils  to  lives  of  definite  Christian 
experience.  Later,  added  to  the  memorizing  of  Scripture  was 
the  giving  of  theological  explanations,  with  the  stories  of  the  sin, 
the  conversions,  and  the  death  of  children.  An  agitation  begun 
in  1846  for  a  graded  course  of  study  resulted  in  1853  m  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  "progressive  system."  Orange  Judd,  as  early  as 
1850,  selected  topical  lessons,  with  date,  topic,  chapter  and  verse 
for  each  Sunday  in  the  year.  In  1862  the  Judd  Question  Book 
was  prepared,  giving  connecting  history,  analysis,  etc.  In  1855 
Vincent  organized  his  first  "Palestine  Class"  and  in  1862  dis- 
tributed widely  a  circular,  proposing  "A  New  Department  of 
Sunday  School  Instruction."     In  1840  it  had  been  directed  that 


6See  pp.  149,  150. 

207 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Bible  classes  should  be  formed  "for  the  instruction  of  larger 
children  and  youth,"  and  in  i860  "adults"  was  inserted  in  the 
Discipline.  With  the  admission  of  all  ages  and  the  wider  scope 
of  Sunday  school  effort  the  method  of  instruction  became  varied. 
From  the  days  when  Sunday  school  instruction  had  been  secular 
alone  there  remained  always  some  extra-biblical  material,  though 
the  use  of  this  was  largely  relegated  to  library  reading.  The 
agitation  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  became  very 
great  for  the  Bible  to  be  the  only  textbook  for  Sunday  school 
teaching.  The  revival  of  extra-biblical  material  as  legitimate 
for  the  Sunday  school  has  marked  the  present  twentieth-century 
development.  As  practically  a  new  method  there  has  come  the 
place  of  handwork  in  the  Sunday  school,  related,  however,  to 
that  earlier  reformation  of  methods  led  in  the  Methodist  Church 
by  Dr.  Vincent. 

The  curriculum  has  been  a  matter  of  steady  growth.  The 
subject-matter  was  left  for  the  child's  choice  during  the  era  of 
memorization.  Then  there  was  the  "Limited  or  Selected  Lesson" 
scheme  introduced  about  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  From  then  to  1862  the  curriculum  was  that  of 
questions  printed  in  question  books  on  selected  lessons.  From 
the  time  of  Judd's  effort  in  1862  until  the  adoption  of  the  first 
year  of  Uniform  Lessons  in  1872,  the  Vincent  system  was 
largely  in  vogue  among  the  various  denominations.  His  selected 
courses  of  study  were  accompanied  with  analytical  and  illustra- 
tive helps  for  the  teacher  and  lesson  helps  for  the  scholar.  When 
the  Uniform  Lessons  were  adopted  the  first  year's  course  com- 
prised two  quarters  of  the  Eggleston  outlines,  one  quarter  from 
the  Berean  and  one  selected  by  the  committee  of  which  Vincent 
and  Eggleston  were  members.0  Supplemental  Lessons  were 
added  during  Vincent's  secretaryship  and  became  prominent  as 
a  part  of  Sunday  school  activity  in  the  ten  years  preceding  the 
adoption  of  the  Graded  Lessons  in  1908.     Sixteen  wars  from 


I   amill,  H.  M.,  The  Genesis  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Les- 
son, from  The  Development  of  the  Sundaj  School,  [780-1905,  p.  .jj. 

208 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  inauguration  of  Graded  Lessons  for  Beginners  in  1902  and 
ten  years  since  the  authorization  of  Graded  Lessons  for  all  de- 
partments, the  old  agitation  for  uniformity  is  crystallizing  into  a 
cycle  of  Departmental  Uniform  Lessons,  to  which  Methodism 
is  committed,  in  addition  to  its  willing  and  enthusiastic  adoption 
of  the  Graded  Lesson  System. 

The  Teacher 

In  the  earliest  legislation  relative  to  the  instruction  of  chil- 
dren the  Methodist  Discipline  repeated  the  well-known  phrase, 
"  'I  have  no  gift  for  this.'  Gift  or  no  gift,  you  are  to  do  it.  Do 
it  as  you  can  till  you  can  do  it  as  you  would.  Pray  earnestly  for 
the  gift,  and  use  the  means  for  it."  '  This  became  the  injunction 
in  American  Methodism.  From  1827  the  Christian  Advocate 
and  Journal,  the  official  organ  of  the  newly  formed  Methodist 
Sunday  School  Union,  agitated  teacher  training.  In  1829  they 
began  a  series  of  studies  entitled  "Lessons  for  a  Bible  Class  on 
the  Book  of  Genesis."  In  1832  the  General  Conference  ordered 
the  publication  of  a  book  on  Sunday  school  teaching.  In  1847 
Dr.  Kidder,  in  his  annual  report,  suggested  the  formation  of 
"Sunday  School  Teachers'  Institutes."  The  first  Sunday  school 
institute  of  the  modern  plan  was  held  in  Freeport,  Illinois,  April 
17,  1 861,  conducted  by  Vincent.  The  record  of  institutes  and 
their  outgrowth  in  the  Chautauqua  movement  under  Vincent's 
direction  in  1872  are  well-known  facts  of  history.  Teacher  train- 
ing received  renewed  impulse  the  years  following  the  adoption  of 
new  methods  and  the  new  curriculum  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
century,  and  again  after  the  adopting  of  the  new  curriculum  of 
Graded  Lessons,  with  the  new  ideals  of  religious  pedagogy  and 
the  method  of  expression  work. 

Since  1840,  with  the  exception  of  1841,  until  the  present 
time  there  have  been  yearly  anniversaries  where  several  days 
have  been  given  to  the  discussion  of  the  problems  of  the  Sunday 


7See  pp.  14,  44,  45- 

209 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

school.  These  programs  show  an  up-to-date  appreciation  of  the 
Sunday  school  work  and  difficulties.  At  the  time  of  the  Annual 
Conferences,  whenever  possible,  the  Conference  Sunday  School 
Board  is  instructed  to  hold  an  institute  for  pastors  and  Sunday 
school  workers.  The  Board  is  directed  to  hold  a  pastor's  insti- 
tute annually  in  each  district,  whenever  practicable.  To  this 
Sunday  school  workers  in  general  are  invited. 

The  Goal 

The  goal  in  the  century  and  more  of  the  Sunday  school 
activities  of  the  Methodist  Church  has  been  practically  only  one 
— the  religious  life  of  the  child.  Religious  instruction  was  be- 
queathed to  American  Methodism  by  the  English  Wesleyan 
Church.  With  all  the  changed  ideals  as  to  methods  in  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century  the  same  purpose  actuated  all  effort. 
The  reports  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  hastened  to  show  how 
the  number  of  conversions  of  the  children  had  been  increased 
since  the  adoption  of  the  new  methods.  In  the  statistics  from 
1846  the  number  of  conversions  was  reported  yearly  as  a  sep- 
arate statistical  item.  At  the  beginning  of  the  new  age  the 
emphasis  was  placed  for  a  time  upon  the  enlarged  life  of  the 
scholars,  to  come  back  again  soon  to  the  evangelical  effort.  In 
the  report  of  the  corresponding  secretary  for  1915  Dr.  Blake 
says: 

The  spiritual  results  have  been  even  more  marked  than  the 
numerical  growth.  The  scholars  converted  within  the  past  eight 
years  exceed  the  increase  in  the  total  membership  by  nearly 
200,000.  This  means  that  since  1908  our  Sunday  schools  have 
reported  the  conversion  of  more  than  1,400,000  scholars.  Meth- 
odism has  witnessed  many  remarkable  evangelistic  achievements. 
but  never  one  of  such  immense  magnitude  as  this  one.  It  is  the 
greatest  in  our  history.  There  has  never  been  anything  to  equal 
it  since  the  days  of  Wesley.  The  fact  stands  out  with  striking 
force  that  the  Sunday  school  is  the  church's  greatest  evangelistic 
field  and  factor. 

Dr.  Blake  in  his  far-visioned  report  for  191 6  to  the  members  of 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
closed  with  these  words : 

Week-day  instruction  is  rapidly  looming  above  the  horizon 
as  a  part  of  our  larger  program.  Social  and  recreational  min- 
istries are  being  undertaken,  and  the  Sunday  school  is  now  being 
linked  to  the  world  enterprises  of  the  church  in  a  larger  and  more 
vital  way  than  ever  before. 

The  Sunday  school  has  ceased  to  be  a  minor  phase  of  our 
religious  activities.  It  is  the  great  educational,  evangelistic,  and 
social  agency  of  the  church.    Indeed,  it  is  the  church  in  action. 

The  educational  consciousness  of  the  church  has  crystal- 
lized into  an  educational  conscience  which  may  be  considered 
also  a  goal.  Dr.  Downey,  then  secretary  of  the  Methodist  Board 
of  Sunday  Schools,  voiced  the  attitude  of  the  church  when  he 
said  before  the  Religious  Education  Association  in  Chicago, 
1909,  that  the  principle  in  Sunday  school  work  is  "progressive 
conservatism"  and  the  aim  "Be  true  to  truth." 

Early  in  1909  Dr.  McFarland  reported  to  the  Sunday 
School  Board  with  these  closing  words  :8 

It  is  inspiring  and  yet  humbling  to  be  permitted  to  stand  at 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era  and  have  something  to  do  with  the 
organization  of  forces  that  are  to  influence  deeply  the  life  of  the 
church  and  society  in  the  future.  This  is  our  present  privilege 
and  high  honor.  Our  hands  are  just  touching  the  keys  of  anew 
and  mighty  instrument  of  spiritual  power,  the  lines  of  which  will 
shortly  run  out  into  all  the  earth.  Not  pride  and  boasting  but 
bowed  hearts  and  appealing  prayer  are  fitting  as  the  new  vision 
begins  to  open  to  our  eyes. 

The  principle  upon  which  the  Sunday  school  editorial  work  was 
done  was  voiced  in  the  words  of  this  same  editor:9 

The  regnant  thought  with  me  in  connection  with  all  Sun- 
day school  work  has  been  genuineness.  Whatever  we  do,  I  have 
felt,  we  must  do  honestly  and  sincerely,  out  of  profound  regard 
for  reality  and  truth.     There  must  be  no  sham  or  hypocrisy. 


"Statement  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  January,  1909. 
9Year  Book  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  and  the  Department  of 
Sunday  School  Publications,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,   1908. 

211 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Whatever  we  do  must  at  least  have  the  merit  of  being  honest. 
We  must  face  truth  without  fear;  we  must  hate  a  lie  in  any 
form;  our  work,  if  not  finished,  must  at  least  be  sound;  we  must 
take  no  delight  in  vain  show  and  pretension. 

When  Dr.  McFarland  with  his  far-sightedness  became 
sponsor  for  the  graded  system  during  the  period  of  uncertainty 
relative  to  the  wisdom  of  such  a  departure,  he  committed  Meth- 
odism to  a  new  pedagogical  program  and  to  a  progressive  theol- 
ogy. At  the  General  Conference  of  1912  he  scored  a  final  victory 
that  put  Methodism  among  the  leaders  in  the  Sunday  school's 
religious  education  program.  His  untimely  death  in  1913  would 
have  been  a  calamity  indeed  had  his  competent  assistant,10  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Meyer,  not  been  capable  of  real  leadership  in  the  vital 
matters  to  which  the  Editorial  Department  of  the  Sunday  school 
had  committed  the  church. 

The  goal  of  Methodism  has  been  translated  into  a  concrete 
standard,  including  aim,  means,  product  (see  p.  185),  a  standard 
not  unworthy  of  Methodism's  great  past  nor  of  her  future  pos- 
sibilities. 


10Dr.  Meyer  had  served  as  an  assistant  since  Dr.  Neely's  second  year 
(1902)  as  corresponding  secretary  and  editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications. 
When  Dr.  McFarland  became  editor  of  publications,  in  harmony  with  the 
legislation  of  1008,  Dr.  Meyer  became  the  editorial  assistant  and  upon  Dr. 
McFarland's  death  in  1913  was  appointed  by  the  Board  as  editor  of  Sunday 
School  Publications,  to  which  position  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1916. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


APPENDICES 
I.    APPENDIX— STATISTICS 

Table  Showing  the  Annual  Growth  of  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  from  1845  to  the 
Close  of  1916.1 


4 

■  8 

c  -g 
•2  „,w 

! 

§1 

OH 

l 
1 

OHtc 

IP 
6.8  J 

1845 

5,005 

47,252 

268,775 

$   685.22 

1846 

6,111 

61,090 

320,630 

2,336.88 

2,603 

1847 

6,568 

65,146 

339,82o2 

3,787.66 

4, 188 

1848 

6,758 

70,264 

357,032 

3,410.57 

8,240 

1849 

7,334 

73,874 

392,233 

4,058.74 

9,014 

1850 

8,021 

84,840 

429,589 

5,008.60 

11,398 

1851 

8,706 

93,56l 

473,311 

6,568.80 

14,567 

1852 

9,074 

98,031 

504,679 

7,258.09 

13,243 

1853 

9,438 

102,732 

525,008 

9,584.17 

16,916 

1854  • 

9,908 

107,649 

553,o65 

10,170.28 

17,494 

1855 

10,469 

H3,I59 

579,126 

U,38l.54 

17,443 

1856 

10,600 

H4,3I9 

604,113 

12,316.37 

i6,775 

1857 

11,229 

120,421 

639,120 

11,268.88 

14,669 

1858 

11,834 

131,344 

695,302 

11,299-57 

32,315 

1859 

12,809 

140,527 

747,148 

12,796.74 

20,500 

i860 

13,447 

148,632 

807,988 

12,007.32 

I9,5i7 

1861 

13,600 

149,705 

826,239 

11,214.64 

17,498 

1862 

13,307 

147,816 

816,933 

9,595.89 

12,828 

1863 

13,088 

148,582 

841,706 

12,978.48 

20,233 

1864 

13,213 

149,577 

861,484 

I7,839.47 

18,892 

1865 

13,365 

153,039 

914,587 

17,738.37 

25,12-.' 

1866 

13,846 

162,000 

980,786 

19,620.08 

44,144 

1867 

15,292 

171,695 

1,083,525 

23,203.82 

31,270 

1868 

16,034 

191,369 

1,165,914 

21,286.02 

41,70s 

1869 

16,193 

182,859 

1,170,219 

20,670.82 

41,090 

1870 

16,440 

181,230 

1,197,674 

22,406.83 

48.2-  i 

'Figures  taken  from  the  Year  Book,  1916. 

!  Annual  Report  gives  the  enrollment  as  340,230  (see  p.  27). 

213 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 


-4 

-  ° 

■ 

1 

•0 

s| 

.2-o-S 

1  £ 

sh 

I 

II 

OH 

J3 

3 

Ohu) 

1871 

17,244 

192,197 

1,250,493 

$23,417 -57 

50,163 

1872 

17,132 

190,060 

1,259,464 

22,992.88 

57,545 

1873 

17.936 

195,484 

1,324,187 

21,473.20 

60458 

1874 

18,475 

201,534 

1,380,978 

19,274.60 

87,700 

1875 

19,106 

206,613 

1,398,731 

16,837.59 

75,162 

1876 

19,473 

210,020 

1,446,027 

15,742.48 

102,024 

1877 

19,689 

211,402 

1,503,137 

12,999.83 

08,110 

1878 

19,904 

212,442 

1,511,389 

32,968.27 

77,644 

1879 

20,340 

226,367 

1,538,311 

12,085.73 

75,130 

1880 

20,835 

221,545 

1,595,900 

17,693.19 

75,363 

1881 

20,643 

223,912 

1,588,147 

16,662.41 

66,286 

1882 

21,152 

226,702 

1,638,895 

16,564.37 

75.821 

1883 

21,453 

229,565 

1,796,034 

16,563.67 

80,333 

1884 

22,176 

237,472 

1,760,436 

16,969.19 

86,082 

1885 

22,490 

246,054 

1,818,032 

18,098.08 

06,868 

1886 

23,104 

257,849 

1,897,368 

18,563.08 

110,996 

1887 

24,225 

268,391 

2,006,328 

20,084 • 28 

116,278 

1888 

25,096 

278,017 

2,086,348 

20,453-9° 

105,096 

1889 

25,828 

286,768 

2,188,077 

22,524.05 

"9,654 

1890 

26,919 

296,785 

2,313,644 

25,581.52 

103,841 

1891 

27,493 

303,581 

2,326,866 

49,966.99 

128,135 

1892 

28,223 

310,162 

2,369,782 

25,241.81 

116,966 

1893 

28,856 

328,343 

2,409,874 

24.476.58 

1 19.741 

1894 

29,862 

348,685 

2,510,539 

22,542.78 

154,082 

1895 

30,259 

352,627 

2,585,178 

23,888.72 

132,607 

1896 

30,917 

357,329 

2,608,514 

21,265.16 

126,424 

1897" 

31,175 

349,o83 

2,644,315 

20,961.05 

147,986 

1898 

31,686 

350,388 

2,679,246 

25,205.85 

124,910 

1899 

31,830 

346,364 

2,659,205 

23.38i.47 

107,378 

1900 

32,034 

346,874 

2,688,077 

21,727.73 

123.735 

1 901 

31.695 

347,596 

2,697,113 

25,406.31 

127,540 

1902 

32,390 

351,402 

2,758,429 

26,340.18 

130.855 

1903 

32,5" 

349,895 

2,774,747 

26,865.38 

127,386 

1904 

32,791 

349,618 

2,814,300 

28,012.96 

132,584 

190s 

33,184 

354.402 

2,872,974 

29,918.68 

150,623 

1906 

33,724 

36i,439 

2,934,327 

30,084.30 

164,118 

1907 

34.176 

358,729 

2,987,677 

37,i27.96 

144.252 

'First  year  of  reporting  Home  Department  (that  year  70,02.1),  but  its  membership  was  not 
to  the  enrollment  of  "scholars"  until  1 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


■o 

1J 

% 

! 

gj 

iflS 

s 

M0    >v 

■Sm.g 

s£ 

W 

OH 

CO 

OHco 

Oiw 

1908 

34,663 

362,404 

3,071,087 

$49,823.79 

155,339 

1909 

34,783 

366,712 

3,482,946* 

63,224.06 

169,139 

1910s 

34,945 

368,981 

3,545,961 

82,969.97 

146,115 

1911 

35,528 

372,594 

3,629,758 

97,480.86 

155,107 

1912 

35,609 

380,680 

3,725,455 

97,767.35 

163,657 

1913 

35,799 

384,044 

3,843,654 

134,679.90 

177,923 

1914 

35,790 

393,322 

3,991,955 

147,148.65 

206,900 

1915 

36,028 

403,787 

4,598,69i6 

161,850.05 

236,525 

1916 

36,176 

411,839 

4,679,120 

l62,993.53 

204,717 

2.  Table  of  Sunday  School  Gifts  to  Missions,  1869-1916 

1869  $117,661   1893  $401,266 

1870  152,718   1894  393,793 

1871  162,334   1895  379,9i6 

1872  180,154   1896  382,004 

1873  192,287   1897  373,713 

1874  187,687   1898  382,520 

1875  176,959   1899  38i,337 

1876  163,066   1900  405,175 

1877  i53,H4   1901  4H,334 

1878  150,924   1902  432,531 

1879  147,703   1903  470,295 

1880  161,521   1904  484,332 

1881  180,839  1905  510,773 

1882  209,059   1906  537,9i  1 

1883  225,932   1907  524,852 

1884  240,841   1908  476,333 

1885  243,816   1909  523,200 

1886  278,333   1910  578,066 

1887  324,666   1911  591,865 

1888  351,871   1912  594,577 

1889  375,767   1913  631,086 

1890  385,061   1914  654,381 

1891  392,283   1915  646,988 

1892  398,576   1916  676,220 

4  Cradle  Roll  and  Home  Department  statistics  were  included  beginning  with  1909. 

BThe  statistics  for  1910  and  191 1  seem  to  be  inaccurate.  In  the  annual  reports  the  enroll- 
ment of  scholars  for  1910  was  3.563,665  and  for  191 1.  3.631.51"- 

•These  figures  for  1915  and  1916  include  officers  and  teachers,  but  in  the  Year  Book  for  1915 
the  designation  is  still  "scholars,"  while  in  the  1916  Year  Book  the  designation  of  the  entire  column 
is  changed  from  "scholars"  to  "total  enrollment"  without  any  change  in  figures. 

215 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

3.   Denominations   Affiliated   with   the  Sunday   School   Council,   with 

Sunday   School   Enrollment   and   Number  of   Communicants 

as  Shown  in  the  Latest  Reports7 

Total  Sunday 
Communi-  School  Enroll- 

cants,  1916  ment.  1916 

Baptist,  Ontario  and  Quebec 60,000  67,919 

Baptist,   National   Convention 2,500,000  1,350,785 

Baptist,  Northern  Convention 1.566,356  1,230,183 

Baptist,    Southern    Convention 2,685,552  1 ,760,802 

Baptist,  Seventh  Day 8,376  7,713 

Brethren,   Church   of   the 93,048  126,755 

Christian     "109,478  "100,000 

Church  of  England,  Canada 200,000  137,000 

Congregational    780,414  766,103 

Disciples    1,200,904  1,009,850 

Evangelical  Association  154,105  261,371 

Evangelical    (German    Synod) 285,000  148,073 

Evangelical,    United    "86,916  "147428 

Friends    100,000  70,000 

Lutheran    (General   Synod) 360,749  343>"8o 

Methodist,   Canada    378,802  461,927 

Methodist    Episcopal    4,033,123  4,679.120 

Methodist  Episcopal,  South 2,111,118  1,924,698 

Methodist,  Free   37,212  74,897 

Methodist    Protestant    195,000  172,000 

Presbyterian,    Canada    333-457  340,4'3 

Presbyterian,   United    156.954  181,885 

Presbyterian,    United    States 348,223  328.252 

Presbyterian,   U.    S.   A 1,560,000  1427,208 

Protestant   Episcopal    1,086,089  550,i  19 

Reformed   in  America 130.943  131.890 

Reformed  in  the  United  States 326,1 12  346,657 

United    Brethren    348,585  454-75 

Total    21,236,516  18,601,103 

II.    APPENDIX-CONSTITUTION  OF  BOARD  OF  SUNDAY 
SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER  IX 

BOARD  OF  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 

I.   Incorporation 

1  472,  §   1.     For  the  moral  and  religions  instruction  of  our  children,  and 

for  the  promotion  of  Bible  knowledge  among  all  our  people,  mere  shall  be  a 

7  Minutes  Sunday  School  Coir.-.  uary  10-18,  lvi7.  P-  a 

8  Last  year's  figures. 

2l6 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  duly  incorporated  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  and  having  its  headquarters  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  The 
said  Board  shall  have  general  oversight  of  all  the  Sunday  School  interests  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  shall  be  subject  to  such  rules  and  regu- 
lations as  the  General  Conference  from  time  to  time  may  prescribe. 

§  2.  The  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  shall  be  composed  of  the  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  said  Board  and  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publi- 
cations, who  shall  be  ex  officio  members  thereof;  three  effective  Bishops,  one 
member  from  each  General  Conference  District,  who  shall  reside  therein,  and 
a  sufficient  number  of  members  at  large  to  make  up  the  number  of  twenty- 
nine  as  the  entire  membership  of  said  Board.  There  shall  be  both  lay  and 
clerical  members,  such  as  are  expert  in  Sunday  School  work.  All  the  mem- 
bers of  said  Board  except  the  two  ex  officio  members  shall  be  elected  by  the 
General  Conference  upon  nomination  of  the  Board  of  Bishops. 

§  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  Board  to  found  Sunday  Schools  in 
needy  neighborhoods ;  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  Sunday  Schools  re- 
quiring assistance;  to  educate  the  Church  in  all  phases  of  Sunday  School 
work,  constantly  endeavoring  to  raise  ideals  and  improve  methods;  to  de- 
termine the  Sunday  School  curriculum,  including  the  courses  for  teacher 
training;  and,  in  general,  to  give  impulse  and  direction  to  the  study  of  the 
Bible  in  the  Church.  It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  said  Board,  after  consulta- 
tion with  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications,  to  recommend  to  the 
Book  Committee  the  kind  and  character  of  literature,  requisites,  supplies,  etc. 
needed  for  use  in  our  Sunday  Schools ;  and  the  Publishing  Agents  shall  pro- 
vide and  publish  such  literature,  requisites,  and  supplies  as,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  Book  Committee,  the  best  interests  of  the  Church  may  demand.  It 
shall  also  be  the  duty  of  said  Board  to  promote  such  organizations  of  men 
as  the  organized  Bible  classes,  Brotherhoods,  and  kindred  organizations. 

§  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  to  revise  annu- 
ally its  list  of  members.  In  case  any  member  representing  a  General  Con- 
ference District  remove  therefrom,  it  shall  declare  his  office  vacant,  and  in 
case  any  member  be  inattentive  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  or  guilty  of  im- 
proper conduct,  it  may  remove  him  by  a  majority  vote  of  all  of  the  members 
of  said  Board.  All  vacancies  in  said  Board  may  be  filled  by  a  majority  vote 
of  the  remaining  members  thereof. 

§  5.  The  executive  officers  of  the  Board  shall  be  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  and  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications,  whose  duties  shall 
be  as  hereinafter  defined. 

§  6.  The  German  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications  in  Cincinnati 
shall  be  the  German  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 
without  additional  salary.  He  shall  also  be  an  advisory  member  of  the 
Board. 


II.    Corresponding  Secretary 

1f  473,  §  I-     The  General  Conference  shall  elect  quadrennially  a  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools.    Under  the  provisions 

217 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

of  the  Discipline  and  the  authority,  direction,  and  control  of  said  Board,  he 
shall  conduct  its  correspondence  and  business,  except  in  so  far  as  they  relate 
to  the  duties  of  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications.  It  shall  be  his 
duty  to  recommend  to  the  Book  Committee  the  preparation  and  publication 
of  such  Sunday  School  requisites  and  supplies  as  in  his  judgment  may  be 
necessary.  His  salary  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  and 
paid  out  of  the  funds  thereof.    He  shall  be  ex  officio  a  member  of  the  Board. 

§  2.  The  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  may 
be  suspended  by  said  Board  for  any  cause  it  may  deem  sufficient.  In  case 
of  such  suspension  said  Board  shall  fix  a  time,  at  as  early  a  date  as  practic- 
able, for  the  investigation  of  his  conduct,  and  shall  send  due  notice  thereof 
to  the  Board  of  Bishops,  who  shall  select  one  of  their  number  to  be  present 
and  preside  at  said  investigation.  After  such  investigation,  said  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  may  be  removed  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  entire  Board  of 
Sunday  Schools. 

§  3.  Any  vacancy  in  this  office  caused  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise, 
shall  be  filled  by  the  Board  until  the  Bishops,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall 
fill  the  vacancy. 

III.    Editor  of  Sunday  School  Publications 

H  474,  §  1.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  quadrennially  an  Editor 
of  Sunday  School  Publications. 

§  2.  He  shall  prepare  and  edit  all  books  and  literature  included  in  the 
Sunday  School  Curriculum,  and  all  other  required  Sunday  School  publica- 
tions. 

§  3.  He  shall  be  ex  officio  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 
but  his  salary  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Book  Committee  and  paid  by  the  Publish- 
ing Agents.  He  shall  be  amenable  to  the  Book  Committee  as  provided  in 
the  Discipline. 

IV.    Other  Officers 

H  475,  §  1.  The  Board  shall  elect  from  among  its  members  a  President, 
two  Vice-Presidents,  a  Recording  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer.  It  may,  at  its 
discretion,  elect  an  Assistant  Corresponding  Secretary  and  such  other  Assist- 
ants as  it  may  deem  necessary  for  the  proper  and  efficient  conduct  of  the 
work  of  the  Board. 

i  2.  All  these  officers  shall  be  amenable  to  the  Board  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  their  duties  and  may  be  discontinued  or  removed  by  a  ma- 
jority vote  of  the  Board.  Their  compensation  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Board 
and  paid  out  of  its  funds. 


V.    Conference  Board  of  Sunday   Schools 

I  476,  §   1.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  Annual  Conference  to  organize 
a  Conference  Board  of   Sunday   Schools.     Said   Board  shall  consist  of   the 

218 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Superintendent  of  each  District  ex  officio  and  an  equal  number  of  Laymen 
and  Ministers  from  each  District.  The  Conference  Board  shall  be  auxiliary 
to  the  General  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  shall  have  oversight  of  the  Sunday  School  interests  of  the  Conference, 
and  shall  cooperate  with  the  General  Board  in  promoting  the  Sunday  School 
work  of  the  Conference  and  of  the  denomination  at  large. 

§  2.  Among  the  duties  of  the  Conference  Board  shall  be  the  holding 
of  Sunday  School  Institutes  and  other  meetings  of  Sunday  School  workers, 
the  presentation  of  Standard  requirements  for  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday 
Schools,  the  recommendation  of  the  lesson  helps  authorized  by  the  General 
Conference,  the  distribution  of  literature  issued  by  the  Board  of  Sunday 
Schools  and  the  Methodist  Book  Concern,  the  stimulation  of  effective  Sunday 
School  organization,  instruction  and  equipment,  the  promotion  of  Sunday 
School  growth  and  extension,  the  encouragement  of  wise  plans  for  Evangel- 
istic efforts  in  the  Sunday  Schools  and  the  promotion  of  the  financial  inter- 
ests of  the  General  Board  of  Sunday  Schools.  This  Board  shall  take  the 
place  of  the  Annual  Conference  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools  and  make 
an  annual  report  of  Sunday  School  conditions  and  progress  to  the  Confer- 
ence and  to  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 


VI.  Local  Sunday  School  Board 

If  477,  §  i.  Every  Sunday  School  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
shall  be  under  the  supervision  of  a  Local  Sunday  School  Board,  and  shall  be 
auxiliary  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

§  2.  The  Local  Sunday  School  Board  shall  consist  of  the  Pastor,  who 
shall  be  ex  officio  Chairman,  the  Sunday  School  Committee  appointed  by  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  the  Superintendent,  who  shall  be  ex  officio  Vice-Chair- 
man, and  all  other  officers  and  teachers  of  the  Sunday  School  elected  or  con- 
firmed by  the  Local  Board.  In  case  of  the  withdrawal  of  Officers  and  Teach- 
ers from  the  school,  they  shall  cease  to  be  members  of  the  Board. 

§  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Local  Sunday  School  Board,  wherever 
practicable,  to  organize  the  Sunday  Schools  into  Temperance  Societies,  under 
such  rules  and  regulations  as  the  Local  Board  may  prescribe.  The  duty  of 
such  Societies  shall  be  to  see  that  temperance  instruction  is  imparted  in  the 
Sunday  School,  and  to  secure,  so  far  as  possible,  the  pledging  of  its  members 
to  total  abstinence. 

§  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  local  Sunday  School  Board  to  promote 
the  standard  requirements  for  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  Schools  as  de- 
termined by  the  General  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  and  especially  shall  it 
be  the  duty  of  the  Local  Sunday  School  Board  to  provide  a  class  or  classes 
for  the  training  of  officers  and  teachers  in  the  principles  and  methods  of 
religious  education  and  Sunday  School  work. 

§  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Superintendent,  together  with  the  Local 
Sunday  School  Board,  to  observe  Sunday  School  Rally  Day  in  each  School 

219 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

under  his  charge  as  provided  in  11  480,  §  6,  and  to  take  a  collection  in  said 
School  at  least  once  a  year  for  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 


VII.  Sunday  School  Officers  and  Teachers 

1  478,  §  1.  The  Superintendent  shall  be  elected  annually  by  ballot  by 
the  Local  Sunday  School  Board,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Quarterly 
Conference  at  its  first  session  after  such  election,  and  in  case  of  a  vacancy 
the  Pastor  shall  superintend  or  secure  the  superintending  of  the  School 
until  such  time  as  a  Superintendent  elected  by  the  Local  Sunday  School 
Board  shall  be  confirmed  by  the  Quarterly  Conference. 

§  2.  The  other  Officers  of  the  School  shall  be  elected  annually  by  ballot 
by  the  Local  Sunday  School  Board. 

§  3.  The  Teachers  of  the  School  shall  be  nominated  by  the  Superin- 
tendent, with  the  concurrence  of  the  Pastor,  and  shall  be  elected  annually 
by  the  Local  Sunday  School  Board. 

§  4.  The  place  of  any  Officer  or  Teacher  habitually  neglectful,  inefficient, 
or  guilty  of  improper  conduct,  or  of  teaching  contrary  to  the  accepted  doc- 
trines of  our  Church,  may  be  declared  vacant  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the 
Local  Sunday  School  Board  present  at  any  regular  or  special  meeting.  When 
a  Teacher  ceases  to  teach,  without  the  consent  of  the  Superintendent,  his 
membership  in  the  Local  Sunday  School  Board  shall  thereby  be  discontinued. 

§  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Superintendent  to  report  to  each  Quar- 
terly Conference: 

1.  Name  of  Sunday  School. 

2.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers. 

3.  Scholars — not  including  Home  Department  and  Cradle  Roll. 

4.  Members  in  Home  Department. 

5.  Children  on  Cradle  Roll. 

6.  Total  enrollment  in  all  departments,  including  Cradle  Roll,  Home  De- 
partment, Scholars,  Officers  and  Teachers. 

7.  Average  attendance. 

8.  Members  of  school  who  are  Church  Members,  or  Preparatory  Mem- 
bers, (a)  Teachers  and  Officers;  (b)  Home  Department;  (c)  other  scholars 
not  including  Cradle  Roll. 

9.  Professed  conversions  of  Members  of  the  Sunday  School. 

10.  Accessions  to  the  Church   from  the  Sunday   School. 

11.  Current  exin 

12.  Given   for  Missions. 

13.  Given  for  Board  of  Sunday  Scl 

14.  Other  benevolent  collections. 

15.  To  what  extenl  are  the  schools  graded? 

.:■■   the    Sunday    Schools    furnished   with    the  publications   authorized 
by  our  Church?    Graded  or  uniform  lessons? 

17.    Have    the    Sunday    Schools    Missionary    Superintendents    an d 
mittees? 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

18.  Are  they  organized  into  Temperance  Societies? 

19.  Miscellaneous. 

Note. — He  shall  also,  at  the  Fourth   Quarterly  Conference,   render  an 
annual  report  on  the  above  items. 


VIII.     District  Superintendents 

H  479,  §  1.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  District  Superintendent  to  aid  in 
all  possible  ways  in  developing  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday  Schools  of  his 
district.  He  shall  be  especially  required  to  promote  graded  organization, 
graded  instruction,  teacher  training,  and  Evangelism ;  he  shall  also  urge  in 
all  Schools  the  use  of  the  literature  authorized  by  the  General  Conference 
published  by  The  Methodist  Book  Concern.  He  shall  provide  an  annual 
institute  for  the  instruction  and  training  of  the  Sunday  School  workers  of 
his  District  in  the  most  effective  methods  of  Sunday  School  work. 

§  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  District  Superintendent  to  bring  the 
subject  of  Sunday  Schools  before  the  fourth  Quarterly  Conference;  and  said 
Quarterly  Conference  shall  appoint  a  Committee  of  members  of  our  Church 
of  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  nine  for  each  Sunday  School  in  the 
Charge,  to  be  called  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools,  whose  duty  shall  be 
as  hereinafter  described. 


IX.  Pastors 


II  480,  §  1.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Pastor,  aided  by  the  Superintend- 
ent and  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools,  to  decide  as  to  what  books  and 
other  publications  shall  be  used  in  the  Sunday  Schools. 

§  2.  It  shall  be  the  special  duty  of  the  Pastor,  with  the  aid  of  the  other 
Preachers  and  the  Committee  on  Sunday  Schools,  to  form  Sunday  Schools 
in  all  our  Congregations  where  ten  persons  can  be  collected  for  that  purpose, 
which  Schools  shall  be  auxiliary  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  to  engage  the  cooperation  of  as  many  of  our 
members  as  he  can ;  to  visit  the  Schools  as  often  as  practicable ;  to  preach 
on  the  subject  of  Sunday  Schools  and  the  religious  instruction  of  children  in 
each  Congregation  at  least  once  in  six  months ;  to  form  classes,  wherever 
practicable,  for  the  instruction  of  the  larger  children,  youth,  and  adults  in  the 
Word  of  God;  and  where  he  cannot  superintend  them  personally,  to  see 
that  suitable  Teachers  are  provided  for  that  purpose. 

§  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Pastor  faithfully  to  enforce  upon  par- 
ents and  Sunday  School  Teachers  the  great  importance  of  instructing  chil- 
dren in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  our  holy  religion ;  to  see  that  our  cate- 
chisms be  used  as  extensively  as  possible  in  our  Sunday  Schools  and  fam- 
ilies; and  to  preach  to  the  children  and  catechize  them  publicly  in  the  Sun- 
day Schools  and  at  public  meetings  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

§  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Pastor  in  his  Pastoral  visits  to  pay  spe- 
cial attention  to  the  children ;  to  speak  to  them  personally  and  kindly  accord- 

221 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

ing  to  their  capacity  on  the  subject  of  experimental  and  practical  godliness; 
to  pray  earnestly  for  them;  and  diligently  to  instruct  and  exhort  all  parents 
to  dedicate  their  children  to  the  Lord  in  Baptism  as  early  as  convenient. 

§  5.  Each  Pastor  shall  lay  before  the  Quarterly  Conference,  to  be  en- 
tered on  its  Journal,  the  number  and  state  of  the  Sunday  Schools  in  his 
Pastoral  Charge,  and  the  extent  to  which  he  has  preached  to  the  children  and 
catechized  them,  and  shall  make  the  required  report  on  Sunday  Schools  to 
his  Annual  Conference. 

§  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  Pastor  to  cause  each  Church  under  his 
Charge  to  observe  the  first  Sunday  in  October,  or  such  other  Sunday  as  may 
be  more  convenient,  as  Sunday  School  Rally  Day,  and  upon  said  day  as  part 
of  the  service  he  shall  take  a  collection  to  be  devoted  to  the  maintenance  and 
advancement  of  Sunday  School  work  throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Church. 
The  Pastor  shall  forward  the  said  collection  directly  to  the  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools. 

§  7.  The  monthly  Missionary  offering  taken  in  the  Sunday  School,  as 
provided  in  H  428,  §  5,  shall  be  divided  as  follows :  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  forty-five  per  cent;  to  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church 
Extension,  forty-five  per  cent;  and  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools,  ten 
per  cent. 


X.  Quarterly  Conference  Sunday  School  Committee 

11  481,  §  1.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Sunday  School  Committee  appointed 
by  the  Quarterly  Conference  to  be  in  regular  attendance  at  the  Sunday  School 
session,  and  to  assist  the  Pastor  and  the  local  Sunday  School  Board;  to 
secure  needed  supplies  and  requisites  for  the  Sunday  School ;  and  to  cooper- 
ate in  providing  facilities  for  the  week-day  recreational  life  of  the  young 
people. 

§  2.  It  shall  further  secure  adequate  time  for  the  Sunday  School  ses- 
sion ;  provide  for  a  Sunday  School  anniversary  in  the  Church  service  every 
year;  promote  an  annual  house-to-house  visitation  to  increase  Sunday  School 
membership,  Bible  study  and  family  worship  in  the  home,  and  also  aim  to 
secure  every  member  of  the  Church  as  a  member  of  some  department  of  the 
Sunday  School. 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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American  Journal  of  Education,  Vol.  XV. 

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Arminian  Magazine  (London),  Vol.  VIII;  Vol.  XL 

Asbury's  Journal,  Vol.  II. 

Atkinson,  John:  Centennial  History  of  American  Methodism  (1884). 

Baird,  Robert:  Religion  in  America   (1856). 

Bangs:   History  of   Methodist  Episcopal  Church,   Vols.   I-III    (1838).     See 

especially  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  337-347 ;  Vol.  I,  PP-  309,  310. 
Bennett,  William  W. :  Memorials  of  Methodism  in  Virginia. 
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pamphlet. 
Brown,  Mary  C. :  Sunday  School  Movements  in  America. 
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Deems,  Charles  F. :  Annals  of  Southern  Methodism  (New  York,  1856). 
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Worker   (1869). 
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Field,  A.  D. :  Memorials  of  Methodism  in  Rock  River  Conference. 
Finley,  J.  B. :  Autobiography  (1853). 
Four  Years  of  Progress  (1912),  a  pamphlet. 

Gorrie,  P.  Douglass :  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Groser,  William  H. :  A  Hundred  Years'  Work  for  the  Children. 
Harris,  J.  Henry:  Robert  Raikes. 
Haslett,  Samuel  B. :  The  Pedagogical  Bible  School. 
History  (A  Brief)  of  the  Massachusetts  Sabbath  School  Society,  and  of  the 

Rise  and  Progress  of   Sabbath   Schools  in  the  Orthodox  Congregational 

Denomination  in  Massachusetts  (1850). 
Hurst,  J.  F. :  History  of  Methodism  (1903). 
Hyde,  A.  B. :  The  Story  of  Methodism. 
James,  J.  A.:  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide  (1816). 
Journal  of  General  Conference,  1824,  1844,  1912,  1916. 
Judd,  Orange :  Lessons  for  Every  Sunday  in  the  Year. 
Kidder,  Daniel  P.:  The  Sunday  School  Teacher's  Guide  (1846). 

223 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

Lee,  Jesse:  History  of  the  Methodists  (1809). 

Library  Books  published  by  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union — Question 

Books.  Manuals,  Lesson  Books,  Graded  Courses,  Berean  Lessons,  etc. 
London  Quarterly,  Vol.  L. 

Memoir  of  Miss  Hannah  Ball.    See  Jackson's  Preface,  p.  9  (1839). 
Mercein,  Randolph:  Childhood  and  the  Church  (1858). 
Methodist  Episcopal  Quarterly  Review,  1850,  1851,  1871. 
Methodist  Magazine  (London),  1802,  1825,  1827,  1828,  1829,  1834,  1846. 
Methodist  Magazine  (American),  1827,  1828,  1830,  1832,  1840. 
Meyer,  H.  H. :  Annotated  List  of  Sunday  School  Publications  by  Age  Groups 

and  Departments. 
Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences  (England),  Vol.  I,  1744-1798;  Vol.  II, 

1799-1807;  Vol.  Ill,  1808-1813;  Vol.  IV,  1814-1818;  Vol.  V,  1819-1824;  Vol. 

VI,  1825-1830. 
Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences  Annually  held  in  America  from  1773 

to  1794,  inclusive  (i795)- 
Minutes  of  the  Methodist  Conferences  Annually  held  in  America  from  1773- 

1813. 
Minutes  of  Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations,  January, 

1914-1916. 
Minutes  of  Sunday  School  Union. 

(1)  "S.   S.   Union,    M.   E.   Church,   Recording   Secretary"    (Minutes    from 
December  14,  1840  to  April  26,  1876). 

(2)  "Minutes  of  the  Board  of   Managers  of  the   Sunday   School  Union. 
From  June  30,  1880,  to  March  15,  1899." 

(3)  "Record"   (Minutes  from  April  19,  1899,  to  May  17,  1905). 

(4)  "Record"   (Minutes  from  June  14,  1905.  to  February  20,  1907). 

(5)  "Grants  Made  by  the  S.  S.  Union  Board  in  Money  with  Record  of 
their  Disbursements"  (December  21,  1887,  to  June  20,  njoo). 

(6)  "S.  S.  Union  Grants  to  Foreign  Fields  and  Special  Grants"  (May  15, 
1001,  to  April  10,  1908). 

(7)  Letters — S.  S.  Union    (about  1906-07). 

(8)  "Minute    Book   of   the    Executive   Committee   of   the    Sunday   School 
Union"  (May  16,  1898,  to  January  8,  1907). 

Myles,  William :  A  Chronological  History  of  the  People  Called  Methodists. 

Fourth  Edition  (1813). 
National  Sunday  School  Teacher  (1870). 
Xormal  Class  (1875-1877). 
Olin,    Stephen:    A    Sermon    on    the    Religious    Training    of    Children     (a 

pamphlet). 
Organized    Sunday    School    Work    in    America.      Two    volumes    (1908-11; 

1911-14). 
Pittsburgh  Christian  Advocate,  March  1,  1917. 
Porter,  James :  Compendium  of  Methodism. 
Porter,  James:  Comprehensive  History  of  Methodism   (1876). 
Pray,  L.  G. :  History  of  Sunday  Schools  and  (if  Religious  Education   (1847). 
Publications  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union — Magazines,   Papers. 

224 


IN  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Report  of  Eleventh  International  Sunday  School  Convention — The  Develop- 
ment of  the  Sunday  School,  1780-1905. 

Report  of  Corresponding  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  (1916). 

Reports  of  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union   (1845-1908). 

Reports  of  the  Methodist  Board  of  Sunday  Schools  (1908-1916). 

Sampey,  John  R. :  The  International  Lesson  System. 

Scudder,  M.  L. :  American  Methodism  (1868). 

Smith,  George :  History  of  Wesleyan  Methodism,  Vol.  III. 

Smith,  William :  Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Ireland. 

Statement  of  the  Editor  of  Sunday  School  Literature  to  the  Board  of  Sun- 
day Schools  (1909,  1914,1915,  1916). 

Stevens,  Abel :  A  Compendious  History  of  American  Methodism. 

Stevens,  Abel :  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Vols.  Ill,  IV. 

Stevens,  Abel :  The  History  of  the  Religious  Movement  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  called  Methodism,  Vol.  II. 

Stevenson,  George:  City-Road  Chapel,  London,  and  Its  Associations. 

Strickland,  William  Peter:  The  Pioneer  Bishop,  Francis  Asbury  (1858). 

Strong,  James :  The  Duty  of  Personal  Effort  in  the  Sunday  School  Cause 
(1856). 

Strobridge,  G.  E. :  Biography  of  Daniel  Kid 

Sunday  School  Advocate   (1841-1914). 

Sunday  School  Journal  (1860-1917). 

Sunday  School  Magazine,  1827. 

Sunday  School  Teacher,  1867,  1868. 

Teacher  Taught  (1839)  :  American  Sunday  School  Union. 

Trumbull,  H.  C. :  Sunday  School :  Its  Origin,  Mission,  Methods,  and  Auxi- 
liaries (1888). 

Trumbull,  H.  C. :  Yale  Lectures  on  the  Sunday  School. 

Tyerman,  L. :  Life  and  Times  of  John  Wesley  (1872). 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  The  Chautauqua  Movement. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  Helpful  Hints  for  the  Sunday  School  Teacher. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  The  Modern  Sunday  School. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  Normal  Class,  Vol.  II. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  Sunday  School  Institutes  and  Normal  Classes. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  A  Year  with  Moses. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  First  Year  with  Jesus. 

Vincent,  J.  H. :  Second  Year  with  Jesus. 

Wesley's  Journal. 

Western  Christian  Advocate,  February  21,  1917. 

Wheeler,  Henry:  One  Thousand  Questions  and  Answers. 

Wickens,  S.  B. :  The  New  Sunday  School  Manual. 

Winchester,  C  T.:  The  Life  of  John  Wesley  (1906). 


INDEX 


Abingdon,  50,  51. 

Adult  Bible  Class  and  Teacher  Train- 
ing Monthly,  129 
Adults, 

Bible  classes,  88,  163,  178,  1981.,  2071. 
Department  for,  155,  177,  178,  194L 
Schools  for 

In   Wales,  36  ff. 
In  England,  38  ff. 
Agents  of  the  Sunday  school,  76,  78f., 

i63ff.,  179  f.,  204f. 
American  Bible  Society,  76,  81,   163, 

203 
American  Sunday  School  Union,  58,  64 
Apparatus  for  the  Sunday  school,  80, 

81,  147  ff.,  153,  207 
Architecture,  Sunday  school,  56,  57, 

94f.,  I49f.,  184,  2o6f. 
Arminian  Magazine, 
American,  50 
London,  18 
Asbury,  Francis 

Arrival  in  America,  43 
Journal,  5 if. 

Plans    for    educational,    institutions, 
5if-,  53f- 
Atmore,  Charles,  2of. 


Benevolent    Boards   and   the   Sunday 

school,  i7of.,  i82f. 
Berean  Lessons,   I35f.,   139,   191,   193, 

196,  199,  200,  208 
Bible  Instruction 

In  England,  18,  22,  30,  31,  35L,  38L 
In  America,  46,  58,  59,  66,  73L,  88, 
90,    112,    113,   119,   131,   I35ff., 
145,  208 
Bible  school,  112,  142,  176L 
Bingley  Church  Sunday  School,  i8f. 
Blackboard,  Use  of,  147L 
Blake,  Edgar,  181,  188,  204,  2iof. 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church 
Organization,  174L 
Objects,  176. 
Standardization  of  Sunday  Schools, 

178,  i84f 
Departments,  181,  205 
Grants,  184 
Constitution,  2i6ff. 
Bolton  Sunday  School,  19L,  2lf. 
Book  Concern,  Methodist,  and  Sunday 
schools,  55,  69L,  74L,  76,  81,  149, 
I53f-,  207. 
Bradburn,  Mrs.  Sophia  Cooke,  17 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  35 
Bunting,  Jabez,  24,  29 


B 


Baldwin  University,  Ohio,  124 
Ball,  Hannah,  16 
Bangs,  Nathan 

History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  61 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Sunday 
School  Union,  61,  204 
Barnes,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  173,  174,  188 
Baxter,   Richard,   "Gildas  Salvianus," 

13.  H5f- 
Bayley,  Cornelius,  23 


Calamities    and    the    Sunday    school 
work 
Burning  of  the  Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern, 76 
European  War,  95L 
Civil  War,  88f.,  97ft. 
Cholera,  g6i. 
Catechetical  instruction,  29,  3 if.,  34, 
35,  38,  53.  54.  73.  87,  108,  116,  168 
Catechism 

In  England,  108 


227 


228 


INDEX 


In  Wales,  37L 

In  America,  53,  54,  55,  83,  107,  108, 
140,  145 
Charles,  Thomas,  35ff. 
Chautauqua  Movement,  I25ff.,  209 
Chester  Sunday  School,  23 
Child  Nurture,  14,  i8f.,  3of.,  34,  112, 

ii4f. 
Child's  Magazine,  67 
Children's  Church,  161 
Children's  classes,  15,  44ff. 
Children's  Day,  I70f.,  205 
Children's  meetings,  isgf. 
Children's  societies,  12,  14 
Church  membership  and  the  Sunday 

school,  85,  89 
Cincinnati  Wesleyan  Female  College, 

I24f. 

Classification   of   the   Sunday   School, 

i3of.,  I42f.,  178 
Coke,  Thomas,  Journal  of,  50 
Cokesbury  College,  5off. 
Collections 

For  the  Sunday  School  Union,  82, 

83f.,  85,  103,  205,  206 
For  the  Board  of  Sunday  Schools, 

178,  i8of.,  i83f.,  202,  205 
For  Missions,  144,  170,  i8of.,  i83f., 

202,  205 
For  the  Board  of  Education,  i7of., 
205 
College  Voluntary  Study  Courses,  190L 
Conversions  and  the  Sunday  school,  31, 
34.  59.  67,  68,  73,  79,  86,  91,  94, 
ioof.,  107,  io8ff.,  112,  147,  i62f., 
210 
Cooke,  Sophia,  17 
Council   of   North   American    Student 

Movements,  190 
Courses  of  Study,  73f.,  76,  107,  i3off., 

I35tf-,  I73f-,  i85ff.,  190,  2o8f. 
Cradle  Roll,  115,  206 


Department  of  Extension,  179L 
Department  of  Missionary  Education, 
180,  206 


Department  of  Sunday  School  Instruc- 
tion, 99L,  125,  205,  207 

Dickins,  John,  55 

Dike,  S.  W.,  116. 

Doering,  C.  H.,  168 

Dougharty,  George,  47ff. 

Downey,  David  G.,  175,  176,  179,  204, 
211. 

Duncan,  W.  A.,  116 

Durbin,  John  P.,  55 


Eclectic  Sunday  school  library,  140 
Editor  of  Sunday  school  books,  82f., 

95,  I74f.,  204,  212 
Educational    program    of    Methodism, 

1  if.,  soff.,  53f.,  I27f. 
Eggleston,    Edward,     138,     152,     156, 

208 
Elliott,  William,  46f. 
Ep worth  League,  104 
Examinations   in   the   Sunday  school 

67,  141 


Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ 

in  America,  187 
First    Methodist    Sunday    schools    in 

America,  46ff. 
Fletcher,  John,  22f. 
Floy,  Rev.  James,  132 
Foreigners,     Sunday    schools    among. 

103,  104,  i66ff.,  180  , 

Frontier,  Sunday  schools  on  the,   58, 

167 


Garrettson,  Freeborn,  43,  44,  55,  59 

Gary  Plan,  184 

German  Sunday  school  work,  103,  166, 

168,  199 
Graded  Curriculum,  i3off.,  135,  I42f., 

I72ff.,  178,  207 
Graded  Lesson  Conference,  The,  173 
Gratuitous  instruction  in  the  Sunday 

school,   19,  20,  21,  23,  25,  26,  40, 

52,54 


INDEX 


229 


H 

Handwork  in  the  Sunday  school,  208 
Hill,  Rowland,  23 
Home  Department,  115,  116,  178 
Huntingdon,  Lady,  11 
Hurlbut,  Jesse  L.,  102,  204 
Hymn  books  for  the  Sunday  school, 
70,  1 501. 

I 

Improved  Uniform  Lessons,  i88ff.,  209 
Infant  Department,  143. 
Infant  School,  80,  81,  129L 
Inspectors  and  visitors,  21,  26 
Institutes,  conventions  and  Chautau- 

quas,    100,    120,    121,    I25ff.,   129, 

J47t  179.  209,  210 
Instruction  in  the  home,  I2ff. 
Instruction  of  Children,  26,  52,  54 
Instructions  for  Children,  13,  14,  45 
International  Improved  Uniform  Les- 
sons, i88ff.,  209 
International  Lesson  Committee,  139, 

185,  186,  188 
International  Primary  Union,  172 
International  Uniform  Bible  Lessons, 

100,  105,  137ft.,  163,  172L,  i85ff., 

208 
Irish    Methodism    and    the    Sunday 

school,  24L 

J 

Jacobs,  B.  F.,  138 
Jacoby,  Ludwig  S.,  168 
James,  J.  A.,  35 
Janes,  Edmund  S.,  163L 


Kidder,  Daniel  Parish,  82L,  121,  I30ff., 

158,  204,  209 
Kingswood  School,  12,  27 


Lancaster,  John,  23 
Leeds  School,  12,  23 
Lesson  Leaves,  100,  133,  135L,  207 

Library  Books  for  the  Sunday  school, 


55,  74,  81,  82,  83,  88f.,  91,  95,  U2f., 

140,  I53ff.,  207 
Liebhart,  Henry,  168 
Louisville  Convention,  173 
Lyceum  Courses,  128 


M 


Manchester  Sunday  School,  23 

Marriott,  William,  24 

Marsden,  William,  26 

Martin,  S.  W.,  164L 

Massachusetts  Union  Sabbath  School 

Society,  57f.,  63L 
McFarland,  John  T.,    I73f.,    175,    179, 

204,  2 1  if. 
Memoriter  Instruction,  27,  37,  66,  129, 

141 
Methodist  Brotherhood,  177 
Methodist   Episcopal    Church,    South, 

89,  140 
Methodist    Episcopal    Sunday    School 

Association,  New  York,  58 
Methodist  Magazine, 
London,  18 
American,  50 
Methodist  Sunday  schools  (see  Meth- 
odist Sunday  School  Union) 
First  in  America,  46ft. 
Early  schools,  55ft.,  65L 
Methodist     Sunday     School     Society, 

London,  25,  26 
Methodist  Sunday  School  Union, 
Organization,  6 if.,  203 
Object,  62L 
Early  schools,  65L 
Problems,  66f. 
First  aggressive  steps,  67ff. 
Merger  with  the   Bible  and   Tract 

Society,  74,  203 
Decline,  76 

Reorganization,  78L,  203 
Resources  of,  8if.,  83!,  85,  103,  202 
Ideals,  85 

Incorporation  and  new  charter,  101 
Merger  with  the  Board  of  Education 
and    Freedmen's    Aid    Society, 
203L 


230 


INDEX 


Reorganization  under  the  title  of  the 
Board  of  Sunday  Schools  of  the 
Methodist     Episcopal    Church, 

174 

Methods  of  instruction,  I3f.,  i8ff.,  42L, 
58ff.,  73f.,  I36ff.,  I42ff.,  171,  207 

Formal  repetitions,  54,  65L,  I45f. 

Palestine  Classes,  132,  133,  207. 

Use  of  objects,  I48f. 
Meyer,  Henry  H.,  188,  190,  204,  212 
Missionary  Circles,  170 
Museums,  biblical,  148L 
Music  in  the  Sunday  school,  150ft. 

N 

Nast,  William,  168 

National  Sunday  School  Teacher,  159 

Neely,  Thomas  B.,  128L,  204 

Newcastle  Orphan  House,  12 

Newcastle  Sunday  school,  21. 

New  York  Sunday  School  Union,  7of. 

Nipper t,  L.,  168 

Normal  Class,  The,  140,  146 

Normal  College,  12 1,  166 

Normal  Department,  126,  129,  I48f. 

Normal  Sunday  School,  121,  1221. 

Nuelsen,  Henry,  168 


Official    recognition    of    the    Sunday 

school,  First,  52 
Organization    of    the    Sunday    school, 

94,  I52f.,  I59f.,  178 
Oxford  League,  104 


Palestine  Classes,  132,  133,  207 
Parental  responsibility  and  the  Sunday 

school,  14,  16,  27,  32,  44,  45,  54, 

107,  H4ff. 
Pastoral  responsibility,  I2ff.,  44f.,  52, 

54,  69,  71,   76,   78,  79,  871-,  9of. 

106,  107,  108,  114,  ii7ff.,  121,  205 
People's  Bible  Institute,  129 
Periodicals     of     the     Sunday     School 

(American)!  92,  i9iff. 


Youth's  Instructor  and  Guardian,  49 
Child's  Magazine,  67,  70 
Sunday  School  Messenger,  76 
Youth's  Magazine  (American),  80 
Sunday  School  Advocate,  76,  80,  91, 

99 
The   Sunday   School   Teacher,    135, 

148, 156 
The  Normal  Class,  140,  146 
Sunday     School     Journal — Sunday 
School  Teachers'  Journal — Sun- 
day School  Journal  for  Teachers 
and  Young  People,  105 
Sunday  School  Classmate,  80 
The  Adult  Bible  Class  and  Teacher 
Training  Monthly,  129 
Periods  in  the  development  of  Meth- 
odist Sunday  Schools  in  America, 
201 
Picnics  for  the  Sunday  school,  161 
Pole,  Dr.  Thomas,  36 
Printing  press  at  Abingdon,  50,  51 
Progressive     System     of     instruction 

i3off.,  207 
Purdy,  Dr.  Alfred  S.,  204 
Prust,  Stephen,  39 


Raikes,  Robert,  11,  16L,  18,  116 
RaUy  Day,  178 

Recreation  and  the  Sunday  school,  161 
Religious  Education  Association,   173, 

211 
Religious  Tract  Society  (London),  35, 

83 
Rindge  Fund,  104 
Rodda,  Richard,  23 
Rural  Problem  and  the  Sunday  school, 

161,  183,  184 


Secular  Education  in  the  Sunday  school, 
28ff.,  53,  58£.,  63,  129 

Seminary  Normal  class,  123 

Sessions  of  the  Sunday  school,   16,  94, 

140,  I57ff. 
Slavery  ami  the  Sunday  school,  98L 
Smith,  William,  39L 


INDEX 


231 


Social  service  work  and  the  Sunday- 
school.  (See  also  Sunday  school 
work  on  the  Frontier,  among  the 
Indians,  among  the  Negroes, 
among  Foreigners.) 
Service  to  the  poor 

In  England,  17,  20,  22,  25,  28,  29, 

36f. 
In  America,  46,  53,  77,  i6of.,  162 
Spanish  department  for  New  Mexico 

and  California,  168 
Special  agents  of  the  Sunday  school, 

76,  78f.,  i63ff.,  I79f.,  204L 
Standardization  of  the  Sunday  school, 

177L,  184L,  211 
Standing  committee  on  Lesson  Courses, 

187 
Statistical  reports  of  the  Sunday  school, 

74,78,90,  179,205 
Statistics  of  the  Sunday  school 
In  England,  18,  21,  34f 
In  America  before  1827,  56f.,  59 
from  1 82  7- 1 840,  65f.,  7off. 
from  1840-1908,  8if.,  85,  86,  87,  88, 

89ff.,  101,  io2ff.,  155 
from    1908-1916,    199,    201,    206, 
2i3ff- 
Summary  of  the  Sunday  school  move- 
ment, 20lff. 
Sunday  School  Advocate,  76,  80,  90,  99 
Sunday  school,  The,  and  the  church, 

25,  28,  29,  32,  34,  88,  90,  205f. 
Sunday  School  Classmate,  80 
Sunday  School  Council  of  Evangelical 
Denominations,    173,    185L,    187, 
190 
Sunday  School  Day,  177 
Sunday  School  Editorial  Association, 

173 
Sunday  schools  in  Asia,  Early,  4of. 
Sunday  school  institutes,  105,  120,  121, 

I25ff.,  179,  209L 
Sunday  School  Journal,  105 
Sunday  school  legislation 
In  England,  27ff.,  33L 
In  America,   51,   52L,   54L,   71,   76, 
78f.,  87L,  105,   106L,   174,  176, 
182L,  2l6ff. 


Sunday  School  Messenger,  76 

Sunday  school  pastor,  69 

Sunday  school  prayer  meeting,  68,  1 1 1, 

138 
Sunday  school  problems,  66f.,  69,  209L 
Sunday  schools  and  tracts,  35f.,  71,  74, 

75,  82,  121,  155,203,205 
Sunday  School  Teacher,  135,  148,  156; 

The  National,  159 
Sunday  School  visitors,  26,  160 
Sunday    school    work    among    special 
classes 
On  the  Frontier,  58,  167 
Among  the  Indians,  52,  58ff.,  166 
Among  the  Negroes,   47ff.,   52,  65, 

8of.,  166 
Among  Foreigners,  103,  104,  i66ff., 
180 
Supplemental  Lessons,  105,  141L,  178, 

208 
Swedish,    Norwegian  and   Danish   de- 
partment, 168,  169 


Teachers'  meetings,  121 

Teacher  training,  68,  74,  100,  U9ff.r 
171,  178,  179,  184, 209 

Text  books  of  the  Sunday  school,  52, 
55,  68f.,  70,  73L,  79L,  83,  90,  113, 
130,  132,  133L,  135L,  I9iff. 

Tract  Society,  74L,  203 

U 

Uniform  Lesson  System,  International, 
100,  105,  I37ff.,  163,  172L,  185  ff., 
208 

Uniform  Lesson  System,  Improved  In- 
ternational, i88ff.,  209 


Vincent,  B.  T.,  159 

Vincent,  John  H.,  133,  172,  204,  207, 
208 
General  Agent  Sunday  School  Union, 

99,  165L 
General  Secretary  of  Sunday  School 
Union,  100 


2T,2 


INDEX 


Relation  to  institutes  and  Chautau- 

quas,  ioo,  I25f£. 
Publications,  115 
Methods,  I36f. 

Relation  to  the  Home  Department, 
116 
Vocational   Guidance   in    the    Sunday- 
school,  160 

W 

Wales,  Sunday  schools  in,  35ft. 
Weekday  instruction,  184,  191,  211 

In  England,  131.,  16,  29 

In  America,  51 
Wesleyan  Sunday  schools,  state  of,  341. 
Wesley,  Charles,  18 
Wesley,  John 

Editor  of  Arminian  Magazine,  1 1 

School  in  his  own  house,  12 


Relation  to  Zinzendorf,  1 5 
Relation  to  Sunday  School,  18,  19 
On  the  instruction  of  children,  I2ff., 

26,  27 
In  America,  15,  42,  43 
Founding  of  American  Methodism, 
43.44 
Wesley,  Mrs.  Susannah,  16 
Winter  sessions  of  the  Sunday  school, 

91,  142,  143.  158 
Wise,  Daniel,  95,  165,  204,  207 


Youth's  Instructor  and  Guardian,  49 
Youth's  Magazine  (America),  80 
Youth's  Magazine,  The  (England),  24 


Zinzendorf,  classes,  15 


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